Boston Dynamics has released new behind-the-scenes footage showing its latest electric humanoid robot, Atlas, performing heavy lifting and manipulation tasks that the company says are designed to prepare the system for real industrial work. (See video below.)
The demonstration centers on Atlas lifting and carrying a mini-fridge weighing roughly 50 pounds, although Boston Dynamics says the robot successfully handled a loaded fridge weighing more than 100 pounds during testing.
The company says the breakthrough is not simply the robot’s physical strength, but the development of AI-driven control systems capable of adapting to “real world adaptability: handling heavy objects by bracing and accounting for the mass and inertia; using whole-body control, not just hands to maneuver”. [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics trains Atlas humanoid robot to pick up and place washing machine