Atlas robot performs Exorcist head spins in pre-Halloween video

“Atlas uses a machine learning (ML) vision model to detect and localize the environment… There are no prescribed or teleoperated movements; all moves are autonomously generated online. The robot is able to detect and react to changes in the environment (e.g., moving devices) and action failures (e.g., failure to insert cap, trigger, environmental collisions) using a combination of vision, force, and proprioceptive.”

That’s part of how Boston Dynamics described the latest video released today that you’re about to watch.

Yes, Boston Dynamics’ new all-electric Atlas robot is already capable of doing some useful pick-up/put-down-style work fully autonomously — and the remarkable swivel-jointed robot is wonderfully bizarre to watch. I’ve already seen Atlas do something strange stuff in the short reveal video back in April, but this one takes the cake.

Boston Dynamics failed to warn viewers that they might experience nightmares after watching Atlas “do the job” for nearly three minutes. The way Atlas moves brings back memories of watching Linda Blair The Exorcist spin its head back and forth before the spider descends the stairs.

I even pressed back no less than three times on the “jump-freak” in the video. Considering it’s the day before Halloween, maybe it’s perfectly acceptable to scare your fans.

Regardless… Atlas’ new video is ridiculously cool, and the inhuman way he twists his torso, neck, hip, and shoulder joints isn’t just for freak show points. Watching the robot “work” here, as well as how it lifts off the ground in the launch video below, makes it clear that this is a smart and efficient way to get around.

Machine learning through computer vision and physical experimentation will eventually allow these humanoids to follow and learn more or less any manual task a human can perform. This type of machine promises to be absolutely transformative for society on a mass scale, decoupling productivity from population numbers and potentially introducing a post-capitalist world of plenty.

Boston Dynamics focused primarily on research revolutionary humanoids in the past, but with companies like Tesla, Figure, Agility, and more looking to ramp up humanoid production on a large scale, perhaps we’ll see this new Atlas begin to move toward commercial deployment soon as well.

Source: Boston Dynamics