If you happen to meet a seemingly delightful, untethered robot who is casually rearranging 10 lb boxes in a warehouse space, please don’t push it with a hockey stick or knock it over unkindly. This video is only a demonstration of technology and should not be considered acceptable human/robot interaction.
From the Alphabet-owned, DARPA-funded Boston Dynamics, this is the next generation of Atlas, their ever-improving, bipedal, humanoid robot:
A new version of Atlas, designed to operate outdoors and inside buildings. It is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. It uses sensors in its body and legs to balance and LIDAR and stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, assess the terrain and help with navigation. This version of Atlas is about 5′ 9″ tall (about a head shorter than the DRC Atlas) and weighs 180 lbs.
Take a good look at how far robots have advanced in just a few years: ATLAS Unplugged in January 2015, DARPA’s Robotics Challenge 2013, and Boston Dynamics’ Cheetah Robot from 2012.
Related watching: Anthropomorphism in Robots.
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