Atlas Robot
-- posted February 2016 --
Recently Boston Dynamics released a new video showcasing the latest improvements in their humanoid robot Atlas.
As a reminder, Boston Dynamics was acquired by Google (now Alphabet) in 2013. They are the most famous for their Big Dog robot - a quadruped robot, with abilities for navigating over various terrains, and even over icy surfaces. Other robots designed by Boston Dynamics are WildCat, Cheetah, PETMAN, etc.
The upgraded new generation of Atlas is smaller (5’ 9“), lighter (180 lbs.), quieter, and in comparison to its predecessor it possesses many new skills and abilities. The robot can walk without a tether, and it has been designed for outdoor operation. The video demonstrates impressive walking stability and balancing, which to some extent reminds to the realistic natural motions of the Big Dog. The robot features a lidar and stereo cameras for navigation and scene recognition, besides the other sensors for low-level control. They decided to stick to the hydraulic actuators (as was the case with the Big Dog and other robots), which although don’t offer the quiet and clean operation of the electric actuators, provide a superior power-to-weight ratio. Another very interesting feature is that the legs were 3D printed, in a design that integrated the actuators and hydraulic lines in a single component (finding ways to 3D print actuators will significantly reduce the price of robots in general).
The robot’s ability to maintain and recover balance or perform a task is tested by moving the target with a hockey stick, and similarly to their other videos, by a kick from the back by, I assume, one of the engineers in the team.
Here is the link of the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVlhMGQgDkY
