Technology
Humanoid robot Atlas goes electric
The most famous humanoid robot in the world is getting an upgrade. photo
© Josh Reynolds/AP/dpa
Boston Dynamics’ robot Atlas has caused quite a stir over the years as it jumps and dances over obstacles. Now the machine gets a slimmer body with electric motors.
The most famous humanoid robot in the world is getting an upgrade. The US company Boston Robotics presented a new version of its Atlas model, which now has electric drives instead of hydraulics in the mechanical arms and legs. As a result, Atlas has become stronger, more agile and more agile, emphasized Boston Dynamics when it presented the new robot on Wednesday. The South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, to which the company now belongs, wants to use the machine in production on a test basis.
The various Atlas generations have repeatedly caused a stir in recent years. Boston Dynamics occasionally released videos of the robots running, jumping and dancing. The new version is significantly slimmer, stands out with a ring light head and can rotate many joints 360 degrees. This makes movements possible for Atlas that humans are not capable of. The goal is for the machine to move as efficiently as possible to fulfill its tasks, emphasized Boston Dynamics. You don’t want to let the limitations of a human body slow you down.
In a fresh compilation to say goodbye to the old Atlas version, another reason became clear why electric motors are superior: You can see how hydraulic fluid occasionally sprays out of the joints when you fall.
Boston Dynamics was a pioneer in humanoid robots with Atlas, and there are now several companies that want to develop such machines and bring them into everyday life. In January, the start-up Figure agreed with BMW to supply robots for use in car production in the US state of South Carolina in the future. Mercedes wants to test robots from Apptronik in production. At the electric car manufacturer Tesla, tech billionaire Elon Musk is having a robot called Optimus developed and says that at some point it could become more important than vehicle production.