It ’s the day everyone fear : Boston Dynamics ’ robot have moved on fromfun dance partiesand have started doing existent jobs . In their latest video , the Atlas automaton is shown hopping around a " construction web site " ( a set build up atBoston Dynamics ’ facility ) doing manual labor , throwing tool bagful around , and building a little pathway for itself to cross onto the staging .
It looks seriously telling and unmistakably human , and allows a forgetful glimpse into what the hereafter of study could await like .
“ We ’re layer on new capabilities , ” order Ben Stephens , Atlas controls precede , in astatement .
“ Parkour and dance were interesting examples of pretty extreme locomotion , and now we ’re trying to ramp up upon that inquiry to also do meaningful manipulation . It ’s important to us that the robot can execute these undertaking with a certain amount of human fastness . the great unwashed are very effective at these tasks , so that has want some pretty big upgrades to the ascendance package . ”
Stephens is right , of course – if companies are to invest in robotics to zip up work flow , there is no stop in having a humanoidrobotthat walk at half the swiftness of a human and fall over when it meet something slimly unfamiliar .
Boston Dynamics have shown themselves to be at the forefront of robotics in this area , demonstrate ego - right capabilities and even the ability to open doors . However , old presentation of both Spot and Atlas have been pre - programmed move that do n’t require consciousness of their surroundings , whereas create a robot that is both aware and reactive to its environs is importantly knavish .
As the society explains , Atlas needs to remain balanced in the grimace of obstacles of dissimilar sizes and weights , grapple and pushing them in fashion that would normally require a human .
“ We ’re using all of the strength available in almost every unmarried stick on the golem , ” Robin Deits , a software engineer for Atlas , says in a statement .
“ That trick is right at the demarcation line of what the robot can do . ”
If you ’re a construction worker , there is n’t too much in the straightaway future to worry about – Atlas is purely a research political platform and is not commercially usable . It does , however , mark one footstep nigher to humanoid robots mimicking human role , which might stir more than just one industry .
