The retirement video drew tears from hundreds of thousands of viewers and made it a step out of history
New Zhiyuan reports
Editor: Editorial Department
Boston Dynamics' Atlas,Officially announced its retirement today!In the last farewell video,It's still running、Jumping、Backflip,Even fell to the ground,Spraying hydraulic oil from the knee,Let hundreds of thousands of viewers in front of the screen cry out in pain。 Perhaps the hydraulic system is really outdated, and the retirement of the Atlas marks the end of an era.
Atlas, the "originator" of humanoid robots, retires Boston Dynamics to do a new project?
Just today, Boston Dynamics announced that the hydraulically powered Atlas humanoid robot has officially been retired!
So far, Atlas has been working for a full decade.
Boston Dynamics released a three-and-a-half-minute video as a final memorial to Atlas.
In this farewell video, Atlas performs one last great performance.
End of 10 years: Boston Dynamics humanoid robot Atlas retires
"Over the past decade, Atlas has sparked our imagination and inspired generations of robotics talent to break through barriers in technology. Now, it's time for our hydraulic robot, the Atlas, to take a good rest. 」
In front of the screen, hundreds of thousands of viewers were in tears.
The video has only been released for 12 hours, and it has already had 360,000 views.
Netizens expressed reluctance and confusion-
"My son is disabled and he has always loved Atlas' videos. It lets you know that you may fall, you will get hurt, but you can always get back up again. He once thought he couldn't be repaired, but now he knew that the possibilities were endless. Thank you, Mr. Fallen Robot. 」
"I think the most humane thing to do is to release Atlas into the wild. As long as they have charging stations set up around Boston, they can spend each day freely. 」
"I was confused, I thought this was the pinnacle of robotics engineering. 」
"What does Boston want to do? Is it trying to replicate Optimus Prime?"
While many people feel that Boston Dynamics is light-years ahead of Tesla's technology, this is not surprising because heuristics are too expensive.
Of course, there are also those who feel that comparing the Atlas to Tesla is like comparing Ferrari to the Ford Model T. The only thing they have in common is that they are both cars.
Strangely, not long ago, Boston Dynamics also released a video of Atlas moving bricks on a simulated construction site, and it didn't take long for it to be unexpectedly decommissioned, which is really incomprehensible.
The last performance
Able to parkour, jump and dance, Atlas has attracted tens of millions of views on YouTube.
This time, in the farewell performance, Atlas contributed a wonderful performance as always.
For example, backflips.
Running obstacle courses.
Jumping dance.
Of course, Boston Dynamics is also not hesitant to show the small mistakes in Atlas's performance.
For example, in the 18th second of the video, Atlas accidentally tripped and fell while running over the balance beam.
What's funny is that it seems to really feel pain, and it touches its injured old waist while crying out for pain.
At 1 minute, it landed low on the front flip, which led to serious consequences - it fell to the ground and hydraulic fluid sprayed out of its knees.
Xiaobian, who has become a middle-aged person and has knee pain from time to time, never thought that he would have such a deep resonance with a robot.
Some netizens commented: The moment I saw the failure of the Atlas parkour and the hydraulic fluid shot out of my knees, this picture was too real.
"It's so real that it's unsettling. 」
At the end of the video, Atlas waved and bowed goodbye, and the audience was filled with emotion.
The retirement of the Atlas is a milestone for Boston Dynamics.
Over the course of its 10-year lifespan, Atlas has inspired the imagination of countless people.
Whether it's dancing with the robot dog Spot, performing in a parkour class, or performing in karate, every new appearance of Atlas can spark a lot of discussion on the Internet.
It's the end, it's the beginning
Today's retirement of Atlas not only marks the end of an era, but also heralds a new beginning.
Perhaps, it is making way for Boston Dynamics' new plan.
Boston Dynamics has been working to commercialize technology for many years.
In 2021, Hyundai Motor acquired Boston Dynamics and appointed Rob Playter as the second CEO in the company's history, a move that significantly accelerated the pace of commercialization of Boston Dynamics.
At that time, companies such as Agility, Figure, 1X, and Apptronik had already attracted a lot of attention in the field of humanoid robots, so Boston Dynamics was seriously considering entering the commercial market for humanoid robots.
In fact, in the current technology of humanoid robots, Boston Dynamics is in a leading position.
When it debuted, Atlas was the most advanced humanoid robot of its time. However, it's more of a physical platform developed for the team that integrates the software brain and nervous system services.
The origins of the Atlas can be traced back to a DARPA project called PETMAN (Protective Equipment Test Dummy).
AT THE TIME, PETMAN WAS DESIGNED TO TEST SOLDIERS' CLOTHING AGAINST CHEMICAL WEAPONS. It needs to be able to walk, run, bend, reach and prostrate, etc., to fully test the durability of the garment.
In order to simulate humans as realistically as possible, PETMAN is even able to simulate "sweating".
Compared to other humanoid robots on the market at the time (the most famous of which was Honda's ASIMO), the PETMAN excelled in terms of movement and balance.
What's even more striking is that this PETMAN video is unexpectedly synced with Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" music video.
Satisfied, DARPA chose Boston Dynamics to develop another humanoid robot for the DARPA Robotics Challenge.
DRC showcased a series of Atlas robots, and Boston Dynamics seemed to have a soft spot for the design, as less than a year after the DRC finals, the company announced the next generation of the Atlas, the one that can move boxes.
The original renders of the Atlas, and the four generations of robots that followed
Every six months, new Atlas videos are released, and each time, we are pleasantly surprised by the powerful hydraulics.
In terms of dynamic performance, the hydraulic Atlas is unique and unbeatable.
This is a robot that will be deeply missed.
Hydraulic system, out of the stage of history
Gill Pratt, the DARPA project manager at the time, likened Atlas to a baby.
"One-year-olds can't walk and fall a lot," he said.
If you compare it with the robots in science fiction works, they represent our current state of technology.
But ten years later, Atlas is no longer the same. It has become the star robot of Boston Dynamics.
Today, however, is the final chapter of Atlas.
It is undeniable that, despite the many advances in movement skills of its system, hydraulic technology no longer meets the standards of modern robots.
Because, complex hydraulic robots are not suitable for being a product, because they tend to leave traces of hydraulic oil on the carpet.
In addition, there are several facts that have accelerated its departure even more -
- Boston Dynamics has been clearly focused on commercialization over the past few years.
- The company has successfully transformed the Spot robot dog into an electric product platform based on an early-stage hydraulic research platform.
- Purely electric commercial humanoid robots seem to be the current trend of robotics.
So, after watching Atlas's collection of wonderful performances and gorgeous falls, it's time to say goodbye to it.
"Thank you Boston Dynamics, thank you Atlas. I'm 63 years old and I've been dreaming of you since I was 10 years old. You are the one who makes my dream come true. 」
Resources:
HTTPS://TechCrunch.com/2024/04/16/Atlas-Shrugged-Boston-Dynamics-Retires-ITS-Humanoid-Robot/