Atlas is a bipedal

humanoid robot A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipedal locomotion, or for other pu ...

primarily developed by the American robotics company

Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics is an American engineering and robotics design company founded in 1992 as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Boston Dynamics has been owned by the Hyundai Motor Gro ...

with funding and oversight from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The robot was initially designed for a variety of search and rescue tasks, and was unveiled to the public on July 11, 2013.

Design and development

The design and production of Atlas were overseen by DARPA, an agency of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

, in cooperation with Boston Dynamics. One of the robot's hands was developed by

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...

, while the other was developed by

iRobot iRobot Corporation is an American technology company that designs and builds consumer robots. It was founded in 1990 by three members of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, who designed robots for space exploration and military defense. The com ...

. In 2013, DARPA program manager Gill Pratt compared the prototype version of Atlas to a small child, saying that "a 1-year-old child can barely walk, a 1-year-old child falls down a lot ... this is where we are right now". Atlas is based on Boston Dynamics' earlier PETMAN humanoid robot, and is illuminated with blue LEDs. Atlas is equipped with two vision systems – a laser

rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, such as photography an ...

and

stereo camera A stereo camera is a type of camera with two or more lenses with a separate image sensor or film frame for each lens. This allows the camera to simulate human binocular vision, and therefore gives it the ability to capture three-dimensional ...

s, both controlled by an off-board computer – and has hands with

fine motor skill Fine motor skill (or dexterity) is the coordination of small muscles in movement with the eyes, hands and fingers. The complex levels of manual dexterity that humans exhibit can be related to the nervous system. Fine motor skills aid in the growt ...

capabilities. Its limbs possess a total of 28 degrees of freedom. Atlas can navigate rough terrain and climb independently using its arms and legs, although the 2013 prototype version was tethered to an outside power supply. In October 2013 Boston Dynamics uploaded a video showing Atlas could withstand being hit by projectiles and balance on one leg. In 2014, Atlas robots programmed by six different teams competed in the

DARPA Robotics Challenge The DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) was a prize competition funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Held from 2012 to 2015, it aimed to develop semi-autonomous ground robots that could do "complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, ...

to test the robot's ability to perform various tasks, including getting in and out of a vehicle and driving it, opening a door, and using a

power tool A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed ...

. A variety of other robots also competed. The contest was inspired by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and carries a USD 2 million prize for the winning team. In the 2015 DARPA robotics finals Atlas from IHMC Robotics (named Running Man) came second behind the Korean team

Kaist The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the nation's first public, resear ...

and their robot DRC-Hubo by a margin of six minutes, completing the entire course in a time of 50:26.

Atlas, The Next Generation

On February 23, 2016,

released video of a new version Atlas robot on YouTube. The new version of Atlas is designed to operate both outdoors and inside buildings. It is specialized for mobile manipulation and is very adept at walking over a wide range of terrain, including snow, and can do back flips and cartwheels. It is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. It uses sensors in its body and legs to balance, and it uses LIDAR and stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, assess the terrain, help with navigation, and manipulate objects, even when the objects are being moved. This version of Atlas is tall and weighs .

What's new, Atlas?

On November 16, 2017,

released an update video of the Atlas robot to YouTube. In this video Atlas was shown jumping on boxes, turning 180 degrees while jumping and performing a backflip. On May 10, 2018, Boston Dynamics released an update video of the Atlas robot to YouTube. In this video, Atlas was shown running across the grass on uneven terrain as well as jumping over a log lying on the grass. On October 12, 2018, Boston Dynamics released an update video of the Atlas robot to YouTube. In this video, Atlas was shown running around while jumping over boxes. On September 24, 2019, Boston Dynamics released another update video of the Atlas robot to YouTube. In this video, Atlas was shown performing something akin to a floor routine in gymnastics. The robot demonstrates the ability to perform a

handstand __NOTOC__ A handstand is the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands. In a basic handstand, the body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended, with hands spaced approximately shoulder- ...

somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards ...

s, and rotations all in fluid succession. Boston Dynamics claims the robot was trained using "new techniques that streamline the development process." On December 29, 2020, Boston Dynamics released a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

featuring two Atlas robots, a Spot robot, and a Handle robot performing a dance routine to the song "

Do You Love Me "Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 198 ...

". On August 17, 2021, Boston Dynamics released a video of two Atlas robots running a parkour course with jumps, balance beams, and vaults. In another video released the same day, it is mentioned that Atlas is 5 feet tall (1.5m) and weighs 190 pounds (85kg). Atlas is battery-powered and hydraulically actuated with 20 degrees of freedom. It has RGB cameras and depth sensors which provide input to its control system. All the computation required for control perception and estimation happen in three onboard computers.

Applications

Atlas is intended to aid emergency services in search and rescue operations, performing tasks such as shutting off valves, opening doors and operating powered equipment in environments where humans could not survive. The Department of Defense stated in 2013 that it had no interest in using the robot for offensive or defensive warfare. In the 2015 DARPA competition of robotics, Atlas was able to complete all eight tasks as follows: # Drive a utility vehicle at the site. # Travel dismounted across rubble. # Remove debris blocking an entryway. # Open a door and enter a building. # Climb an industrial ladder and traverse an industrial walkway. # Use a tool to break through a concrete panel. # Locate and close a valve near a leaking pipe. # Connect a fire hose to a standpipe and turn on a valve.

Reactions

Atlas was unveiled to the public on July 11, 2013. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said that its debut was "a striking example of how computers are beginning to grow legs and move around in the physical world", describing the robot as "a giant – though shaky – step toward the long-anticipated age of humanoid robots."

Gary Bradski Gary Bradski is an American scientist, engineer, entrepreneur, and author. He co-founded Industrial Perception, a company that developed perception applications for industrial robotic application (since acquired by Google in 2012 ) and has worke ...

, a specialist in

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

, declared that "a new species, ''Robo sapiens'', are emerging".

References

External links

Atlas page
at Boston Dynamics {{Running robots 2013 robots Bipedal humanoid robots Robots of the United States Robotics at Boston Dynamics DARPA projects