Atlas is a robot built to save humanity. Or at least humans. Created by Boston Dynamics, the robotics wing of Google's parent company Alphabet, Atlas began life as a DARPA rescue robot project. With a requirement that it be roughly human-shaped, much of the work on Atlas is about balance, with some early stumbles. Now that Atlas is much better at walking, it's moving on to simple tasks, like sweeping a warehouse. Last night, Boston Dynamics released video of a newer, smaller version of Atlas venturing into the world.
ATLAS - the totally incredible Boston Dynamics robot that strikes love and fear into the hearts of all who witness its humanoid stride - is having a tough time lately. Last month it broke its ankle during its first live demonstration, and now it crumples when trying to walk through some minor debris. This footage, taken by a team from Florida's Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, shows the rescue 'bot flailing and falling over a piece of wood while trying to traverse the rubble. Watch it fail in a strangely terrifying manner after the jump...
