In July 2013, the American company Boston Dynamics, specializing in robotics and particularly those for military use, revealed its Atlas robot. It is a bipedal robot which measures 1m88. As early as 2018, this robot has made spectacular progress compared to other robots.
He succeeds in particular in executing a determined course. However, at that time, he could not perceive his surroundings. As a result, his analysis faltered as soon as something changed along the way. But that was before…
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Boston Dynamics robot does almost perfect somersaults and jumps
Indeed, Boston Dynamics has just unveiled a new video in which we can see the progress of Atlas compared to his last performances. And to say the least, there is reason to be blown away, even to be concerned about what the future of robots will be.
The reason is that Atlas managed to overcome a course with a near flawless performance. He not only ran, jumped but also performed perfect somersaults. Although the robot briefly lost its balance, it quickly recovered. Note that the movements of this biped are inspired by human gestures.
The field of possible applications is unlimited, say the researchers
But even if Atlas’s pirouettes are mind-boggling, it should not be forgotten that the researchers behind the robot are pursuing a research objective. By making the robot interact with its environment – and by making it act and react accordingly – the research team can not only study the dynamics of the robot’s movements but also learn more about the algorithm that allows it to perfect itself.
The leader of the research team, Scott Kuindersma, said that Atlas’ movements today are guided by his perception of the environment. He emphasizes that “this was not the case before”.
In addition, this team leader also explains that “if, according to our experiments, robots can respond to their environment with the same level of dexterity as a normal adult human, the field of possible applications is almost unlimited”.
Source : Youtube