Boston Dynamics showcases Atlas with a video of its coolest jumps and most spectacular falls
Atlas is retiring, the most famous bipedal robot out there, according to a new video posted on the robotics company’s YouTube page. We would be lying if we didn’t admit that we choked up a bit watching Atlas’s trials and tribulations over the years.
“For nearly a decade, Atlas has sparked our imagination, inspired the next generations of roboticists, and pushed technical barriers in the field,” reads the description of this new video.
Atlas has its origins back in 2009, when Boston Dynamics won a $26 million contract with the U.S. military to produce a bipedal robot, originally called the , joining other advanced robotics efforts of the 2000s like Honda’s Asimo and Boston Dynamics’ other high-profile robot of that decade, BigDog.
Atlas achieved some incredible feats over the years, starting with and then . In no time, Atlas was , , and in increasingly agile ways. Atlas even withstood and refused to take anything lying down.
But perhaps it was the backflip moment that things really started to feel weird for humanity. Most people can’t do a backflip. When bipedal robots start doing things better than the average human, we should probably pay attention.
Is this really the end for Atlas, as it sits in a rocking chair with other robots of history? notes, the language in the new video announcing Atlas’s retirement is somewhat confusing.
Now, if you’re wondering why Boston Dynamics says “it’s time for our hydraulic Atlas robot to rest and relax,” instead of just our Atlas robot,” and if you also wonder why the video description ends with “take a look at all we’ve achieved with the Atlas platform “to date,” well, I can’t help you.
Gizmodo reached out for comments but did not receive an immediate response from Boston Dynamics. We will update this post if the company provides any clarity. .
Today, several startups are still working on bipedal robots with the promise that the average person will one day be able to own a robotic servant, something we’ve been waiting for . And while some companies are , it remains to be seen if we will all get our own Rosie from The Jetsons anytime soon.
Goodbye, Atlas. You were both terrifying and exciting in equal parts, as all cutting-edge technology should be.
