Watch Boston Dynamics’ robot Atlas pull off some amazing parkour tricks

Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot is showing off new tricks again
Amelia Heathman12 October 2018

Are you ready for the latest development from Boston Dynamics? Everyone’s favourite humanoid robot Atlas can now pull off some parkour tricks.

The new video, released last night, shows the robot putting his 28 joints to the test: jumping over a log and hopping up some staggered boxes.

The jumping between the different boxes is seriously impressive. There are definitely humans out there that wouldn’t be able to coordinate those movements, but Atlas pulls it off with ease, probably after some skilled programming on behalf of Boston Dynamics’ engineers.

Every now and again the SoftBank-owned company wows the world with a brand new trick that its robots can carry out.

Already this year, Atlas has shown he can run around outside, with incredible human-like movements, adding to the backflips he pulled off last year.

Atlas’s canine-inspired pal, SpotMini, can navigate by himself as well as open doors for other SpotMini robots.

How can Atlas carry out these amazing tricks? Well, Boston Dynamics says all its work is about pushing the limits of what robots can do.

Atlas is the latest creation in the company’s work on humanoid robots. He has features such as stereo vision, range sensing and other sensors which help him to manipulate objects in his environment, like jump over them and travel on rough terrain.

Thanks to these skills, Atlas can also keep his balance when jostled or pushed. He can even get up if he falls over.

It’s not just Boston Dynamics that is building these realistic robots. Surrey-based React Robotics successfully tested its Star Wars-inspired robot, named DogBot, earlier this year.

Weighing under 20kg and slightly larger than an Alsatian, DogBot is designed to help with mundane human jobs like carrying your shopping or delivering pizza to you.

What could possibly be frightening about a robot dog bringing pizza to your door?

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