The future is probably here sooner than we thought.
Yesterday we were happy when Siri understood our command. Today, robots traverse parkours better than many a trained human. We are very impressed – and also a little scared.
The parkour is run by the “Atlas” model, consisting of 28 hydraulic joints, most of which were created in a 3D printer. Atlas is 1.5 meters tall and weighs an impressive 89 kg. It can reach speeds of up to 2.5 m/s, and its creators say that its movements are “inspired by human behavior” – although they obviously weren’t inspired by us, considering how good we are at parkour.
In any case, the robots doing backflips in this video come from the Boston Dynamics Lab. The robotics company is considered to be one of the most advanced of its kind. Initially, Boston Dynamics developed and researched for the US military. However, companies are now also showing interest in the robots and Hyundai has acquired 80% of the company.
But apart from leaving us speechless, what is the real use of this robot? Atlas was developed for the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC), a competition designed to accelerate the development of advanced robots. The goal is for robots to progressively assist humans in coping with future natural and man-made disasters.
The Boston Dynamics Lab has many exciting videos on its YouTube channel that give you an insight into the company’s research. We are very impressed and at the same time feel reminded to get our sports skills back on track. Because now we humans have to stick to it to avoid becoming superfluous.