Can You Do A Backflip? Because This Robot Can

Can You Do A Backflip? Because This Robot Can:

Since being founded in 1992 with funding from DARPA, robotics company Boston Dynamics has unveiled one nightmarish robotic creation after another. But the company outdid itself this week when it introduced the latest iteration of its ‘Atlas’ robot.

The company caused a stir after publishing a video on YouTube showing the hulking humanoid robot jumping across platforms of varying heights and even perform backflips on command – some of the most advanced capabilities demonstrated by any bipedal robot.

If you’re wondering how this seemingly trivial ability portends imminent warfare between mankind and the machines, then you need to ask yourself: When was the last time you did a standing backflip?

Unless you’re a gymnast, the answer is probably never.

Read moreCan You Do A Backflip? Because This Robot Can

Google Completes Acquisition Of Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics robot  WildCat.
Boston Dynamics’ four-legged robot named WildCat can gallop at high speeds.

Google Adds to Its Menagerie of Robots (The New York Times, Dec 14, 2013):

SAN FRANCISCO — BigDog, Cheetah, WildCat and Atlas have joined Google’s growing robot menagerie.

A robot named BigDog, which can walk over rough terrain, can also stay upright in response to a well-placed human kick.

Google confirmed on Friday that it had completed the acquisition of Boston Dynamics, an engineering company that has designed mobile research robots for the Pentagon. The company, based in Waltham, Mass., has gained an international reputation for machines that walk with an uncanny sense of balance and even — cheetahlike — run faster than the fastest humans.

Read moreGoogle Completes Acquisition Of Boston Dynamics

Meet ATLAS! DARPA Unveils 6 Foot Tall Humanoid Robot (Video)

DARPA Unveils “Atlas”: A 6 Foot Tall Humanoid Robot (Liberty Blitzkrieg, July 12, 2013):

Earlier this year I highlighted DARPA’s Argus, the world’s highest resolution video surveillance platform. Well it appears DARPA has a new toy it wants to introduce you to.  It’s named Atlas and it is a 6-foot, 2-inch-tall humanoid robot. Coming for your taxes in 2020!

From The Verge:

It’s not quite Terminator, but it’s not that far off either: Check out Atlas, a new, 6-foot, 2-inch-tall humanoid robot designed for a contest being held by US Defense Department. The 290-pounds machine is being called “one of the most advanced humanoid robots ever built,” in no small part due to its 28 different hydraulic joints and freakishly good balance. Unveiled publicly for the first time earlier this week, it’s the latest robot from Boston Dynamics, the company behind such internet robotic sensations as Petman (a robotic man) and AlphaDog (a robotic dog), both designed for the US Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). But unlike those previous robots, which were restricted to military and company usage, the keys to Atlas will be turned over to a few lucky civilians, so that they can program and pilot it using their own software.

Now watch Atlas in action.


YouTube Added: 11.07.2013