New Boston Dynamics Video Shows Robots Doing Gymnastic Tricks

Eight months ago, Boston Dynamics, an engineering and robotics design company, shared a video of robots dancing like humans. This footage fascinated and frightened people around the world by showing what the newest machines are capable of. Now, the company has blown us all away once again.

In their latest video, the robots completed an obstacle course, demonstrating their ability to do parkour. Their bipedal Atlas units can be seen flipping, vaulting, and nearly falling over.

The humanoid robot, Atlas, is five feet tall and weighs 190 pounds. According to the company, the bot is an essential research project for their engineers. Thanks to advanced technology, they can improve the control and perception systems.

“The work that we are doing now is really just foundation building,” said Scott Kuindersma, leader of Boston Dynamics’ Atlas team. “We are building the core capabilities that we think any useful robot will need and in doing so we are really just defining the next set of challenges that we are going to be working on over the next two to five years.”

After the first video went viral, the company uploaded an assessment of the machine’s capacities. During the recording, engineers offered a transparent view into what was behind the creation of the routines.

The company shows viewers the hours of work that were put into the creation of the routine. In this behind-the-scenes perspective, Atlas is seen tripping over, failing backflips, and emitting smoke. The team behind the machine believes these errors are opportunities for improvement.

However, some professionals expressed their discontent with the videos. Multiple roboticists criticized Boston Dynamics for misleading the public. They consider that their impressive videos are only constructed and controlled demonstrations, which do not reflect the robot’s true abilities.

Bibliography

McCarthy, M. (2021, August 23) Boston Dynamics’s humanoid robot Atlas mastered a parkour track. But like a human, it took plenty of practice. Boston.com. https://www.boston.com/news/technology/2021/08/23/boston-dynamics-robot-atlas-parkour-bloopers/

Snider, M. (2021, August 17) Boston Dynamics' latest robot video shows its 5-foot humanoid robot has moves like Simone Biles. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/08/17/boston-dynamics-robot-atlas-can-do-parkour-and-gymnastics/8167649002/

Vincent, J. (2021, August 17) Boston Dynamics shows how bipedal Atlas robot flips, vaults, and falls over in latest videos. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/17/22628663/boston-dynamics-atlas-video-parkour-flips-falls-program