Robotics

Boston Dynamics' Atlas has now mastered parkour

Boston Dynamics' Atlas has now mastered parkour
Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot can now bound up boxes parkour style
Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot can now bound up boxes parkour style
View 1 Image
Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot can now bound up boxes parkour style
1/1
Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot can now bound up boxes parkour style

Boston Dynamics has quietly dropped a new video, this time revealing the Atlas robot's newfound ability to clear obstacles and jump like a parkour expert. The combination of real-time computer vision and control software, that balances legs, arms and torso, affirms Atlas as one of the most physically impressive robots ever developed.

It's mind-blowing to consider it was only five years ago that we were introduced to the first completed iteration of the Atlas robot. Back then we were wowed by the sight of a humanoid robot that could independently walk around, albeit still tethered to a separate power source and with the gait of a stumbling drunk.

In 2015 the tether was removed and Atlas was allowed to roam free. Since then the robot's progress has been truly remarkable, with Boston Dynamics periodically sharing videos as a new skill was acquired. First, Atlas mastered the art of balancing, and by the end of 2017 we were treated to some impressive, and frightening, footage of the bot learning how to complete a backflip.

The big 2018 innovations for Atlas seem to have been mostly concerned with the robot learning how to navigate tricky terrain in real-time. Earlier this year we saw a video showing the robot jogging through the woods, easily moving across uneven outdoor landscapes. And now, we see Atlas smoothly leaping up steps and jumping over logs.

As with many of these Boston Dynamics reveals, the company is short on technical details, so it's not clear exactly how programmed the maneuver actually is. In a short note accompanying the video the company states, "Atlas uses computer vision to locate itself with respect to visible markers on the approach to hit the terrain accurately."

Where all this will lead is still unknown at this stage. Despite Boston Dynamics being sold by Google's parent company Alphabet to Japanese company SoftBank for an undisclosed sum in 2017, there has been no indication as to what direction the robot's development is heading. No commercial or private outcome has ever been disclosed, so at this point it seems the engineers are still simply working on making the most mobile humanoid robot they can. And at the rate they are progressing it's difficult (and scary) to imagine what this robot will be capable of in another five years time.

Check out the Atlas robot's impressive parkour abilities in the new video below.

Parkour Atlas

Source: Boston Dynamics

9 comments
9 comments
Martin Winlow
Yes... Not quite sure what my reaction would be if *I* was taking a stroll in the woods and suddenly saw that thing running towards me... but I think I know what my trouser-sphincter muscle would make of it!
riczero-b
i swear it does a little jump of triumph on the top step....
guzmanchinky
The calculations required per millisecond, amazing.
dougspair
Bow, he just needs to take the 'Big Dog' out for a stroll...
ljaques
Data, is that you laughing so hilariously? Thot so.
But I guess that progress is progress. I think smaller, stronger power sources will allow them to make even more progress more quickly.
Rustin Lee Haase
Faster than a speeding Sarah Connor. More nimble too. .... Wicked Cool. Way to go Boston Dynamics!!!
rohit1979
There must be a person using remote control behind the scenes