Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot, Atlas, is making waves once again with its advanced manipulation skills. While the robot has already mastered impressive feats like walking, running, jumping, and even backflips, it is now focusing on the challenging task of picking up and handling medium-weight car parts. In a recent video released by Boston Dynamics, Atlas showcases its new and improved hands, which are a significant upgrade from its previous rudimentary clamps.
The old clamp hands were simple and lacked precision, often causing damage to the objects they picked up. However, the new hands feature spindly, double-jointed fingers that offer greater dexterity and control. Each hand consists of three fingers with two joints, allowing for 360 degrees of motion. This means that Atlas can flex its fingers in both directions, enabling it to wrap its hands around objects rather than just crushing them. The result is a more gentle and precise grip that minimizes the risk of damage.
In the video, Atlas demonstrates its newfound skills by picking up a set of car struts, which are complex objects with intricate topography weighing around 30 pounds. The robot performs a heavy two-handed lift of a strut from a vertical position on a pallet, walks it over to a shelf, and carefully slides it into place. This task requires precise calculations and planning to ensure that the robot maintains its balance and avoids collisions with obstacles.
While the video provides limited information about the process, it is evident that Atlas relies on pre-calculated data to perform the task. The robot’s vision processing capabilities allow it to generate a perfect 3D scan of the car strut, which it can then match with the point cloud generated by its lidar sensor. This pre-programmed knowledge of the object’s shape enables Atlas to handle the strut with accuracy and efficiency. However, it is worth noting that this level of difficulty would increase if Atlas were required to pick up an object it had never encountered before.
One aspect that sets Atlas apart is its exceptional bipedal movement. The robot navigates around the pallet with impressive agility, employing advanced side-step moves, leaning into turns, and even stumbling and recovering like a human. This dynamic and fluid motion adds a touch of realism to Atlas’s movements, making it appear less like a robot and more like a person.
Overall, Boston Dynamics’ Atlas continues to push the boundaries of humanoid robotics with its advanced manipulation skills. While there are still challenges to overcome, such as handling unfamiliar objects in real-time, the progress made so far is undeniably impressive. As Atlas refines its abilities, it holds the potential to revolutionize industries that require precise and delicate manipulation, such as manufacturing and shipping. With each new development, Atlas brings us closer to a future where robots seamlessly integrate into our daily lives, assisting us in various tasks and making our lives easier.
