Atlas, the codename for the humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics, a subsidiary of Alphabet (the parent company of Google), has displayed remarkable capabilities in performing a variety of tasks. The tasks include walking while maintaining balance and lifting heavy objects, although these are feats previously displayed by Atlas in last year’s footage. The circumstances under which the tasks are performed have had an increase in difficulty.
The latest recording shows similar tasks with added obstacles that would make the same task more difficult for a human. Atlas is seen traversing a snow-covered hill without any issues and proceeding to lift a box, stopping when someone interferes with the box’s position by moving it, and proceeds to the new location to lift it. Additionally, Atlas can be seen performing a lifting task which utilises the X, Y and Z axes (left to right, up and down, and forward and back).
The developers have made massive strides in progressing the Atlas project. Old footage from when the project was first shown to the public unveiled a very bulky humanoid robot which could only manage baby steps while tethered to a dizzying network of wired from the ceiling. Now, however, the robot has decreased markedly in bulk and is untethered. At the rate of advancement, Atlas may soon resemble imagined humanoid robots seen in popular Hollywood movies like A.I. and The Terminator.
