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posted by janrinok on Saturday November 18 2017, @11:59PM   Printer-friendly
from the fortunately-skynet-isn't-self-aware-yet dept.

Atlas, the hulking humanoid robot from Boston Dynamics, now does backflips.

To be clear: Humanoids aren't supposed to be able to do this. It's extremely difficult to make a bipedal robot that can move effectively, much less kick off a tumbling routine. The beauty of four-legged robots is that they balance easily, both at rest and as they're moving, but bipeds like Atlas have to balance a bulky upper body on just two legs. Accordingly, you could argue that roboticists can better spend their time on non-human forms that are easier to master.

But there's a case to be made for Atlas and the other bipeds like Cassie (which walks more like a bird than a human). We live in a world built for humans, so there may be situations where you want to deploy a robot that works like a human. If you have to explore a contaminated nuclear facility, for instance, you'll want something that can climb stairs and ladders, and turn valves. So a humanoid may be the way to go.

Source: https://techxplore.com/news/2017-11-atlas-robot-backflip.html

Also: https://www.wired.com/story/atlas-robot-does-backflips-now/

takyon: Don't forget the new SpotMini as seen at The Verge, Quartz, and Popular Mechanics. Even Ethanol-fueled couldn't stop it.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @03:54AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @03:54AM (#598831)

    At first it looked like the video was over when the Boston Dynamics credit rolled...but then there were outtakes, ending with a faceplant!

    But, to impress me, Atlas has to win some 500 mile races, and then nail the backflip:
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0F440kkFC8 [youtube.com]
    Carl did it for years.

    Any SN readers tried to learn to flip? Here's "5 minute instructions", Ha!
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z7ekwI7oMI [youtube.com]