Boston Dynamics New ATLAS UPGRADE Surprises EVERYONE (Boston Dynamics Atlas)
TLDRBoston Dynamics' Atlas robot has received a significant upgrade, showcasing its ability to handle real-world tasks with new hand grippers and impressive agility. The robot demonstrates its capability to load and unload items, recover from a trip, and manipulate irregular objects, indicating a move towards practical applications beyond mere demonstrations. Despite the high cost, which may limit immediate widespread adoption, the advancements hint at a future where humanoid robots perform meaningful work in various industries.
Takeaways
- 🤖 Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot has received a significant upgrade, showcasing its readiness for real-world applications.
- 📦 The robot is seen loading and unloading items with a new, more versatile two-prong gripper, indicating a move towards practical tasks.
- 👀 The video demonstrates Atlas's ability to recover from a trip, showcasing its advanced balance and stability systems.
- 🤔 Some of the robot's actions, like the 3D scanning, are pre-calculated, suggesting a mix of pre-programmed and real-time processing.
- 💰 The cost of humanoid robots like Atlas is high, with estimates suggesting a price tag in the range of $100,000 to $250,000.
- 🚀 Boston Dynamics is focusing on real-world manipulation challenges rather than simple tasks like making coffee or picking up eggs.
- 🌟 The company aims to integrate Atlas's perception with high-level tasks, making smart decisions for mobility and manipulation.
- 🔮 The future of Atlas involves performing meaningful work outside the lab, though the timeline for such capabilities remains uncertain.
- 🏠 While the robot's price may currently be prohibitive for home use, advancements in robotics could lead to more accessible options in the future.
- 🔄 The competition between robotics companies is driving rapid innovation, with Boston Dynamics leading the way in agile humanoid robots.
Q & A
What is the recent upgrade to Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot?
-The recent upgrade to Atlas includes a change in the gripper style to a two-prong gripper, which allows for more gentle handling of objects and a wider range of applications.
How does the new gripper on Atlas differ from the previous one?
-The new gripper is a two-prong gripper, which is more innovative and less harsh on objects compared to the previous gripper, allowing for a gentler handling of items.
What did Boston Dynamics demonstrate in the Atlas video that showed its readiness for real work?
-Boston Dynamics demonstrated that Atlas can load items into a carrier, place them into something else, and recover gracefully after tripping, showcasing its ability to handle real-world manipulation challenges.
How did the Atlas robot react when it tripped during the demonstration?
-When Atlas tripped, it managed to regain its footing, similar to how a real person would react, which impressed the observers.
What is one limitation of the Atlas demonstration mentioned in the script?
-One limitation is that some parts of the smarts in the video are pre-calculated, such as the perfect 3D scan of the car strut, which means it was planned out and not done in real-time.
How does Atlas' vision processing work in the demonstration?
-Atlas has lighter sensors on its face that can generate a point cloud of what it's looking at, allowing it to line up a pre-baked model with the point cloud and have perfect knowledge of the object's topography.
What is the estimated cost of the Atlas robot?
-The estimated cost of the Atlas robot is around a quarter of a million dollars, though this is speculative.
What is the significance of the Atlas robot being able to lift heavy objects?
-The ability to lift heavy objects is a significant milestone for Atlas, as it demonstrates its strength and capability to handle real-world tasks that require lifting heavy items.
What did the chief strategy officer at Boston Dynamics say about the Atlas robot's future applications?
-The chief strategy officer mentioned that they considered making coffee or picking up an egg but decided to focus on real-world manipulation challenges, such as lifting heavy things, recognizing irregular objects, and recovering gracefully after tripping.
What are the implications of Boston Dynamics' focus on real-world applications for Atlas?
-Focusing on real-world applications suggests that Boston Dynamics is moving towards making Atlas a practical tool for various industries, rather than just a demonstration of technology.
What industries might the Atlas robot be suitable for based on its current capabilities?
-Atlas' capabilities suggest it could be suitable for industries that require handling heavy objects, working with irregular items, and performing tasks that involve dynamic environments and recovery from unexpected situations.
Outlines
🤖 Boston Dynamics' Atlas Upgrade
The video script discusses a significant upgrade to Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot, highlighting its new capabilities. The robot is shown performing tasks such as loading and unloading items, which suggests it is being prepared for real-world applications. The script also mentions a change in the robot's gripper, which now uses a two-prong design, allowing for a less harsh grip on objects. Additionally, the robot's ability to recover from a trip is showcased, demonstrating its advanced balance and adaptability. The video's caption indicates that the robot is getting ready for real work, and the script speculates on the potential applications of the upgraded Atlas platform.
💰 Cost and Future of Atlas
This paragraph delves into the cost of the Atlas robot, estimating it to be in the range of a quarter of a million dollars, which is a significant investment. The script compares the cost of Atlas to other robots like Spot, which sells for $74,000, and discusses the potential for Atlas to be used in specific fields where certain items are common. It also raises the question of when full robot automation might become a reality, considering the high cost and the impressive agility of Atlas. The paragraph ends with a mention of Boston Dynamics' strategy officer's statement about focusing on real-world challenges rather than simple tasks like making coffee or picking up an egg, emphasizing the company's commitment to practical applications.
🚀 Future Prospects for Atlas
The final paragraph speculates on the future of the Atlas robot, questioning when it might become a common sight in homes given its high cost. The script suggests that it will take time for the price to decrease due to economies of scale. It also discusses the potential industries where Atlas could be applied, such as environments where heavy lifting and object manipulation are required. The paragraph concludes by inviting the audience to consider which industry they think Atlas will enter next, acknowledging that while Boston Dynamics is ahead, the rapid progress of other companies in the field will lead to interesting competition and coevolution in the future.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Boston Dynamics
💡Atlas Robot
💡Upgrade
💡Gripper
💡Real Work
💡Recovery
💡3D Scan
💡Pre-calculated
💡Humanoid Robots
💡Cost
💡Automation
Highlights
Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot received a major upgrade.
The upgrade showcases Atlas' ability to load items into a carrier and then unload them into another container.
Atlas is being prepared for real-world applications, as indicated by Boston Dynamics.
A small but significant change was made to Atlas' hand, now featuring a two-prong gripper.
The new gripper style suggests a move towards more versatile and gentle handling of objects.
Atlas demonstrated impressive recovery after tripping, similar to a human.
The robot's vision processing was pre-calculated for the demo, showing a perfect 3D scan of the object.
Atlas has lidar sensors that can generate a point cloud, aiding in object recognition and manipulation.
The challenge of picking up objects that the robot has never seen before is acknowledged.
Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot is estimated to be very expensive, possibly in the range of a quarter of a million dollars.
The company's other robot, Spot, sells for $74,000, indicating the high cost of advanced robotics.
Boston Dynamics is focusing on real-world manipulation challenges rather than simple tasks like making coffee or picking up an egg.
The ability to lift heavy objects, recognize irregular objects, and recover gracefully are seen as significant milestones for Atlas.
The statement about making coffee and picking up an egg could be a reference to recent demos by other companies.
Boston Dynamics is rapidly advancing in the field of robotics, despite being newer to the industry.
The future of Atlas includes combining perception with high-level tasks for meaningful work outside the lab.
The high cost of Atlas suggests it will be some time before such robots become common in everyday environments.
The potential industries for Atlas' application are yet to be determined, but the focus is on real-world challenges.
