Atlas is the name used for multiple robot models produced by American robotics company

Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics, Inc., is an American engineering and robotics design company founded in 1992 as a Research spin-off, spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Boston Dynamics has been owne ...

. The first Atlas robot was a bipedal hydraulic

humanoid robot A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments and working alongside humans, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipeda ...

primarily developed by Boston Dynamics with funding and oversight from the U.S.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...

(DARPA). The robot was initially designed for a variety of

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

tasks, and was unveiled to the public on July 11, 2013. In April 2024, the hydraulic Atlas (HD Atlas) was retired from service. A new fully electric version was announced the following day.

Hydraulic model (2013 to 2024)

Design

The design and production of Atlas were overseen by DARPA, an agency of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

, in cooperation with Boston Dynamics. One of the robot's hands was developed by

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force B ...

, while the other was developed by iRobot. In 2013, DARPA program manager Gill Pratt compared the prototype version of Atlas to a small child, saying that "a 1-year-old child can barely walk, a 1-year-old child falls down a lot ... this is where we are right now". Atlas is based on Boston Dynamics' earlier PETMAN humanoid robot, and is illuminated with blue

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

s. Atlas is equipped with two vision systems – a laser

rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to Length measurement, measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, suc ...

and stereo cameras, both controlled by an off-board computer – and has hands with

fine motor skill Fine motor skill (or dexterity) is the coordination of small muscles in movement with the eyes, hands and fingers. The complex levels of manual dexterity that humans exhibit can be related to the nervous system. Fine motor skills aid in the growt ...

capabilities. Its limbs possess a total of 28

degrees of freedom In many scientific fields, the degrees of freedom of a system is the number of parameters of the system that may vary independently. For example, a point in the plane has two degrees of freedom for translation: its two coordinates; a non-infinite ...

. Atlas can navigate rough terrain and climb independently using its arms and legs, although the 2013 prototype version was tethered to an outside power supply. The new fully electric Atlas, revealed in 2024 following the previous model's retirement, is stronger and possesses a wider range of movement in comparison to its predecessor. It can also move beyond the human range of motion. The new Atlas is based on the previous Atlas' progress, building on its history of previous innovation. The new Atlas' design is more humanoid and upright, and also has a head illuminated by a ring light on its face. The new Atlas will also have different "gripper variations" to handle objects.

Development

In October 2013 Boston Dynamics uploaded a video showing Atlas could withstand being hit by projectiles and balance on one leg. In 2014, Atlas robots programmed by six different teams competed in the

DARPA Robotics Challenge The DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) was a prize competition funded by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Held from 2012 to 2015, it aimed to develop semi-autonomous ground robots that could do "complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, ...

to test the robot's ability to perform various tasks, including getting in and out of a vehicle and driving it, opening a door, and using a

power tool A power tool is a tool that is actuator, actuated by an additional engine, power source and mechanism (engineering), mechanism other than the solely manual labour, manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric ...

. A variety of other robots also competed. The contest was inspired by the 2011

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which r ...

, and carries a USD 2 million prize for the winning team. In the 2015 DARPA robotics finals Atlas from IHMC Robotics (named Running Man) came second behind the Korean team

Kaist KAIST (originally the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) is a national university, national research university located in Daedeok Innopolis, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by the Korean government in 1971 as the ...

and their robot DRC-Hubo by a margin of six minutes, completing the entire course in a time of 50:26. On February 23, 2016,

released a video of a new version Atlas robot on YouTube. The new version of Atlas is designed to operate both outdoors and inside buildings. It is specialized for mobile manipulation and is very adept at walking over a wide range of terrain, including snow, and can do back flips and cartwheels. It is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. It uses sensors in its body and legs to balance, and it uses

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...

and stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, assess the terrain, help with navigation, and manipulate objects, even when the objects are being moved. This version of Atlas is tall and weighs . On November 16, 2017,

released an update video of the Atlas robot to YouTube. In this video Atlas was shown jumping on boxes, turning 180 degrees while jumping and performing a backflip. On May 10, 2018, Boston Dynamics released an update video of the Atlas robot to YouTube. In this video, Atlas was shown running across the grass on uneven terrain as well as jumping over a log lying on the grass. On October 12, 2018, Boston Dynamics released an update video of the Atlas robot to YouTube. In this video, Atlas was shown running around while jumping over boxes. On September 24, 2019, Boston Dynamics released another update video of the Atlas robot to YouTube. In this video, Atlas was shown performing something akin to a floor routine in gymnastics. The robot demonstrates the ability to perform a

handstand A handstand is the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands. In a basic handstand, the body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended, with hands spaced approximately shoulder-width apar ...

somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatics, acrobatic exercise in which a person's body Rotation#Sports, rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the Human head, head. A somersau ...

s, and rotations all in fluid succession. Boston Dynamics claims the robot was trained using "new techniques that streamline the development process". On December 29, 2020, Boston Dynamics released a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

featuring two Atlas robots, a Spot robot, and a Handle robot performing a dance routine to the song "

Do You Love Me "Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown, Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three ...

". On August 17, 2021, Boston Dynamics released a video of two Atlas robots running a

parkour Parkour () is an athletic Training#Physical training, training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from one point to another in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment ...

course with jumps, balance beams, and vaults. In another video released the same day, it is mentioned that Atlas is 5 feet tall (1.5m) and weighs 190 pounds (85kg). Atlas is battery-powered and hydraulically actuated with 20 degrees of freedom. It has RGB cameras and depth sensors which provide input to its control system. All the computation required for control perception and estimation happen in three onboard computers. On April 16, 2024, Boston Dynamics announced the retirement of Atlas on their YouTube channel. A new, fully electric version of Atlas was subsequently announced on April 17, 2024 through a YouTube video, featuring a comprehensive remodel and expanded range of motion.

Applications

Atlas is intended to aid emergency services in search and rescue operations, performing tasks such as shutting off valves, opening doors and operating powered equipment in environments where humans could not survive. The Department of Defense stated in 2013 that it had no interest in using the robot for offensive or defensive warfare. In the 2015 DARPA competition of robotics, Atlas was able to complete all eight tasks as follows: # Drive a utility vehicle at the site. # Travel dismounted across rubble. # Remove debris blocking an entryway. # Open a door and enter a building. # Climb an industrial ladder and traverse an industrial walkway. # Use a tool to break through a concrete panel. # Locate and close a valve near a leaking pipe. # Connect a fire hose to a standpipe and turn on a valve.

Reactions

Atlas was unveiled to the public on July 11, 2013. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said that its debut was "a striking example of how computers are beginning to grow legs and move around in the physical world", describing the robot as "a giant – though shaky – step toward the long-anticipated age of humanoid robots". Gary Bradski, a specialist in

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

, declared that "a new species, ''Robo sapiens'', are emerging".

Electric model (2024-present)

The new fully electric Atlas, revealed in 2024 following the previous model's retirement, is designed to be a commercial solution for industry environments and the like, similar to Spot and Stretch.

Reactions

The new fully electric Atlas revealed in April 17, 2024 drew many fearful reactions, calling the new robot "unnerving", especially in reference to its reveal video.

References

External links

Atlas page
at Boston Dynamics {{Running robots 2013 robots Bipedal humanoid robots Robots of the United States Robotics at Boston Dynamics DARPA projects

Hydraulic model (2013 to 2024)

Design

Development

Applications

Reactions

Electric model (2024-present)

Reactions

See also

References

External links