"Atlas uses a machine learning (ML) vision model to detect and localize the environment ... There are no prescribed or teleoperated movements; all motions are generated autonomously online. The robot is able to detect and react to changes in the environment (e.g., moving fixtures) and action failures (e.g., failure to insert the cover, tripping, environment collisions) using a combination of vision, force, and proprioceptive sensors."
That's part of how Boston Dynamics described its latest video released today that you're about to watch.
Yes, Boston Dynamics' all-electric new Atlas robot is already capable of doing some useful pick up/put-down style jobs entirely autonomously – and the remarkable swivel-jointed robot is wonderfully bizarre to watch. We've already seen Atlas do some weird stuff in the short reveal video from April, but this one takes the cake.
Boston Dynamics failed to warn viewers that they may experience nightmares after watching Atlas "doing work" for nearly three minutes. The way in which Atlas moves inspires memories of watching Linda Blair from The Exorcist spin her head 'round-n-'round before spider-walking down the stairs.
I even hit rewind no less than three times at the "jump-scare" in the video. Given it's the day before Halloween, maybe it's entirely acceptable to give your fans a bit of a fright.
No matter... Atlas' new video is ridiculously cool, and the inhuman way it twists its torso, neck, hip and shoulder joints isn't just for freak-show points. Watching the robot 'work' here, as well as the way it lifts itself off the ground in the launch video below, makes it clear that this is a clever and efficient way to move.
Machine learning through computer vision and physical experimentation will eventually allow these humanoids to watch and learn more or less any manual task a human can perform. This kind of machine promises to be absolutely transformational society-wide on a mass scale, decoupling productivity from population figures and potentially ushering in a post-capitalist world of plenty.
Boston Dynamics has famously been mainly research-focused with its groundbreaking humanoids in the past, but with companies like Tesla, Figure, Agility and many others looking to ramp up large-scale humanoid production, perhaps we'll see this new Atlas start moving toward commercial deployment soon too.
Source: Boston Dynamics
