Boston Dynamics released a video on Tuesday showing the prowess its Atlas humanoid robot is now capable of in terms of agility. To demonstrate the athletic progress of the machine, it was programmed to perform a session using the principles of parkour, reports BFM TV. Images posted on YouTube and
on the company blog show two Atlases performing backflips.
The perfectly synchronized figure illustrates “how we are pushing Atlas to its limits to discover a new generation of mobility, perception and athletic intelligence”, affirmed the American company in support of the demonstration. Alternately or together, the two robots show balance and coordination of their movements.
Parkour is the perfect sandbox for the Atlas team to experiment with new behaviors. Through jumps, balance beams, and vaults, we push Atlas to its limits to discover the next generation of mobility, perception, and athletic intelligence. https://t.co/xZRNVnhrkc pic.twitter.com/E0ssh45ZCi
— Boston Dynamics (@BostonDynamics) August 17, 2021
A one-minute video, several months of preparation
They jump, go up and down uneven steps, run or move on a beam before the highlight of the show, when they perform two consecutive aerial pirouettes performed at the same time. To increase the capabilities of the robot, Boston Dynamics engineers have “developed new movements inspired by human behavior”, commented the company.
It took them months to prepare the parkour sequence which lasts barely a minute. “Ultimately, pushing the boundaries of a humanoid robot like Atlas results in hardware and programming innovations that are then usable across all of our robots at Boston Dynamics,” said Scott Kuindersma, Atlas project manager.
The specialist judged “hard to imagine a world in 20 years without advanced mobile robots moving with grace and reliability and working alongside humans to enrich our lives”. “However, we are only at the beginning of the development of this future. I hope a demonstration like this is a small glimpse of what is possible,” he added.