By now, everyone has likely seen Boston Dynamics’ robots.
The company’s videos, usually showcasing what its Atlas hydraulic robot model could do, pretty much always go viral. Yes, these videos show off the incredible technological accomplishments of a company that has created a humanoid robot that can do parkour. But, the videos were popular due to the quirky nature of the robot. Atlas would slip! Atlas would fall over. Sure, some of Atlas’s movements could be a bit dystopian – a sneak peek into a world where robots rule over humans – but Atlas also kind of looked like a Disney/Pixar creation.
But, earlier this week, Boston Dynamics surprisingly bid farewell to Atlas, retiring the beloved humanoid robot model.
But I don’t believe anyone was quite expecting what Boston Dynamics had in store for us next.
The all-new Atlas
On Wednesday, just one day after the retirement of Atlas, Boston Dynamics uploaded a video announcing the all-new version of Atlas, a fully electric robot.
The new Atlas clearly has a brand new design. It’s now slimmer, looking more like an actual human body-type. And it has a round head, something missing from the old Atlas’ structure. In an announcement, Boston Dynamics says it is teaming with Hyundai to roll out real-world commercial uses for Atlas.
But, the video that Boston Dynamics released to introduce the world to the new Atlas certainly was a choice. It’s giving off T-1000 from Terminator 2 vibes as opposed to the quirky kids movie feel of the old Atlas.
The video starts with the new electric Atlas lying on a mat. Suddenly, his legs rise and invert, landing almost crab-style. The legs then lift the rest of the robot’s body up like something straight out of a Japanese horror movie. Its head suddenly spins, like Regan from The Exorcist, to face the camera. With its torso and arms still facing the wrong direction, the robot starts walking towards the camera. Atlas’ torso then flips around to face forwards and the robot stops in front of the camera. After a second, each section of the body begins to spin away from the camera and Atlas loudly marches off.
Boston Dynamics doesn’t really show off too much in the video — in terms of real-world capability anyway — so we still have to wait to find out if the new Atlas will amaze audiences in the way that the old one did. The company usually does deliver though, with each of its robot models proving to be better than the previous iteration.
But, there’s no denying that Boston Dynamics has chosen a pretty creepy way to introduce the world to the new fully electric Atlas. John Connor, please standby.