Editor: Editorial Department
Boston Dynamics' just-born pure electric Atlas scared Musk! This flexibility of the joint doesn't look like it's for human beings, but like acting in a horror movie. Hydraulics exited yesterday, and electric debuted today. Entering the new era of electricity, this year must be the year of the outbreak of humanoid robots, investors pay attention!
Boston Dynamics Atlas has officially entered the era of electric robots!
Yesterday, the hydraulic Atlas just "tearfully" withdrew from the stage of history, and today Boston Dynamics announced: the electric Atlas is on the job.
It seems that in the field of commercial humanoid robots, Boston Dynamics is determined to be tough with Tesla.
After the new video was released, more than one million views were already seen in just a dozen hours.
The old man is gone, and the new character is on the scene, which is the inevitability of history.
There is no doubt that this year is the year of the explosion of humanoid robots.
Netizens commented: The progress of robots makes this year look like the opening ceremony of human beings
The action and freedom are far beyond humans, but this is really not a horror movie?
At the beginning of the video, Atlas is calmly lying on the ground, looking like he should be facing the sky on his back.
Next, a jaw-dropping scene happened-
His legs folded back at an incredible angle, and then he landed on his feet as if performing acrobatics, pushing his whole body up.
When he was fully up, he was supposed to have his back to us, but then his head rotated 180 degrees in place like an owl, and his entire torso turned with him.
Standing up, he walked up to us and proudly showed off its head, a circular screen decorated with ring lights.
It's too much, friends, it's too much. As he approached step by step, there was only one thought in the editor's heart:
Then, Atlas calmly rotates his head and torso 180 degrees again, and then leaves, leaving us with only a dashing back, deep in merit and fame.
is such a short video of less than half a minute, which has made the hearts of many viewers extremely explosive!
Everyone exclaimed: Horror movie, this is a horror movie, right?
Musk is here to join in the fun
In "The Terminator", there seems to be a similar shot......
Boston Dynamics Atlas, entering a new era of electric
In fact, Boston Dynamics uses electric instead of hydraulics, and many people have guessed this step in advance, as natural as replacing a horse-drawn carriage with a car.
The retirement of the Hydraulic Atlas does not mean the end of the Boston Dynamics humanoid robot program – the new Atlas is back, better than before.
For the first time in history, Boston Dynamics began to define the Atlas humanoid robot as a "product."
Although this is the first time Boston Dynamics has built an all-electric humanoid robot from scratch, it has already performed impressively enough.
The all-new, all-electric Atlas, powered by batteries and electric actuators, no more messy hydraulics. As we saw above, it outperforms humans in terms of strength and flexibility.
A friendlier look
It's clear that Atlas has changed and become unrecognizable.
The hydraulic version of the Atlas has a top-heavy skeleton, curved legs, and a clumsy design covered in plate armor.
The new Atlas is slimmer, has a more flexible mechanical skeleton, and doesn't have any exposed cables.
This can be regarded as a compromise of Boston Dynamics' concerns about the public, after all, the design of the original Atlas, Figure 01 and Tesla Optimus Prime is really not friendly to the public.
It's no wonder that the public is worried that robots are going to revolt and wipe out humanity.
new joints, is 180 degrees
In the trailer, the most striking thing is undoubtedly Atlas's smooth and silky movements.
This also made us realize: to build a humanoid robot, do you have to make it look like a real person?
Some investors have said that billions of years of evolution have not turned humans into perfect machines. If we want to create machines that resemble our own image, why not design machines that can do things that humans can't?
As a result, Boston Dynamics designed a custom set of high-power actuators at the joints of the Atlas.
This design is extremely flexible and has greatly "liberated" the Atlas.
To use a figurative analogy, it is equivalent to encapsulating the power of a top athlete in a small body, thus giving Atlas a huge range of motion.
The inverted leg action that scared most viewers was not just for the sake of good looks, it also reflected its practicality in an industrial environment.
Most industrial robots require human intervention when they fail, and if a robot can reset itself and put it back into work, the efficiency will be greatly improved.
Atlas's quick turnaround is just as significant.
When the robot works for us, we need to shuttle back and forth between the shelves and the conveyor belt. If you repeat it hundreds or thousands of times a day, every second saved is worth a thousand dollars.
In confined spaces, the significant reduction in the turning radius also makes it more suitable for existing workflows and spaces.
In general, everything is designed for robots to become better workers for humans.
A three-fingered creature with a "vanity mirror" head
Unlike the traditional design, the electric Atlas inherits the three-finger design of the hydraulic version instead of the usual four-finger design on the market.
To create a robot capable of performing a wide range of tasks, and most importantly, to ensure that the actuator is reliable and durable in contact with the outside world.
This explains why Boston Dynamics designed the Atlas with fewer than five hand indices.
According to reports, they are also constantly exploring and improving this design to adapt to the flexible grip of various shapes, and is equipped with an advanced sensing system to accurately sense contact objects.
Another eye-catching feature is the large, rounded head design of the electric Atlas, which resembles a "vanity mirror".
And this is also a different element specially created by the team behind it, a unique design that distinguishes it from the human image.
The CEO also revealed in the interview that the inspiration for this design was the small table lamp of Pixar Animation Studio.
"We wanted it to look friendly and open, not only to be used as a display, but also to have a shape that conveys friendly intentions, which is key for the future of human-machine interaction."
Question humanity, become human, transcend humanity
In short, everyone agreed that the electric version of the Atlas is really cool compared to the robot prototype they imagined!
On top of that, it has all-directional joints and 360-degree auditory vision, breaking the principle that it must be designed exactly like the "human species".
As Jim Fan, the big man behind NVIDIA's AGI moon landing project GR00T, said:
We're so obsessed with "human-level" robotics that we forget it's just an artificial ceiling. Why don't we create a new species that surpasses humanity from the start?
Commercial humanoid robots have changed in the past decade
Yesterday's retirement of the hydraulic version of the Atlas convinced many that Boston Dynamics was determined to take the road of commercialization.
"Are they trying to copy 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.
But it is undeniable that Tesla has indeed been more successful in commercialization.
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.
In 2021, Boston Dynamics was acquired by Hyundai Motor and significantly accelerated the pace of commercialization.
Today, Agility, Figure, 1X, and Apptronik have all made waves in the field of humanoid robots, so Boston Dynamics is 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.
And the hydraulic system also withdrew from the stage of history at the right time.
The fall of this hydraulic fluid injection during Atlas's retirement performance yesterday caused many people to cry out for knee pain
After 15 years of deep cultivation, we are determined to build an "all-round" robot
IEEE SPECTRUM immediately had an in-depth conversation with Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics.
Robert Playter has served as vice president of engineering at Boston Dynamics since 1994, when the company was still focused on modeling and simulation, before turning to robotics.
In 2019, Playter became CEO and helped the company successfully transition from R&D to commercialization, launching the Spot robot dog, Stretch, and the new Atlas.
Here are some of the highlights of the interview:
Q: What is the current situation and why is it taking so long?
Robert Playter: The all-electric Atlas is the latest achievement in nearly 15 years of work on humanoid robots.
First of all, we believe that it is possible to build a humanoid robot that can handle a wide range of tasks. It is capable of handling/handling heavy, intricately shaped objects with both hands in a manufacturing environment that is far more complex than our previous robot models.
Another reason is that the electric Atlas has been being developed in parallel with the traditional Atlas robot. Previously released videos have shown the feasibility of these technologies. Next, we'll design a next-generation robot that will perform far better than any machine before it.
In the future, we plan to put it on the market as a product, mainly in the fields of industry and logistics.
Q: For the robot dog Spot, Boston Dynamics did not have a preset application scenario, but directly developed the product and brought it to the market, and then let the user explore its adaptability on their own. So, is Atlas' development strategy any different?
Playter: Spot is essentially a technology for finding use cases, and it took us a long time to determine where it is positioned in the industrial inspection market.
The challenges we experienced this time also made us decide to clarify the target application scenario before mass production.
You can see the difference in Stretch, which is launched for a clear target market.
Of course, Atlas is positioned similarly to Stretch, but its capabilities will not be limited to a single task, but will enable a wider range of applications.
Q: Does Atlas' vision be a "universal humanoid robot"?
Playter: It has to be a "multi-functional" robot. The reason for this is that very few robots can extend their ability to perform a single repetitive task to other, more complex tasks.
Q: What will change about the new Atlas as a product rather than a research platform?
Playter: The team's research over the past 10-15 years has been crucial to the development of the first practical humanoid robot.
Things like dynamic balance and the ability to move are all designed to ensure that the robot is able to pick up objects while on the move.
Now that we have mastered these techniques that are critical to doing the actual job.
However, in terms of versatility, it needs to be strengthened. For example, let the robot take out the one that needs to be used from thousands of different parts.
At present, this widespread applicability has not been proven. But we believe that AI will be one of the key tools to solve this problem.
Finally, there was a lot of product prototyping and iteration that needed to be done before we could start mass production and deliver these robots to our customers.
Q: For a long time, "hydraulics" was considered the best way for the Atlas to achieve powerful dynamic motion. Why has this changed today?
Playter: We first experimented with the launch of Spot.
We had the same problem many years ago, and then we developed a powerful and lightweight electric motor with the responsiveness and power to meet the demand.
Subsequently, we designed a new series of "compact actuators" for the electric Atlas, which integrates the power of "professional athletes" into a small device. As a result, the joints of the new robot surpass that of humans in terms of strength and range of motion.
Moreover, by comparison, we also found that the electric Atlas is stronger than the hydraulic Atlas.
Q: The range of motion video was a bit uncomfortable, so why was the new Atlas shown in this way?
Playter: These actuators with a high range of motion will give the robot a unique set of actions that will greatly improve its work efficiency.
Imagine how convenient it would be if the robot could turn around directly, instead of taking several steps to turn its entire body.
This flexibility opens up endless possibilities for designing new features, and we've started to enjoy this innovation and decided to share it with the world.
Q: There's an argument that robots need to move in a way that's familiar and predictable so that they don't feel uncomfortable working around them. What do you think about this?
Playter: That's true, but that doesn't mean we have to limit robots to mimicking human movements.
In contrast, if a robot were more powerful or flexible, it would be able to do tasks that humans could or were unwilling to do.
For example, the joints of the first generation of Stretch cannot rotate 180 degrees. As a result, it moves very slowly when turning around to pick up and place the chest.
Subsequently, we added a joint that rotates, which makes the Stretch movement faster and more efficient.
Eventually, everyone got used to this new mode of movement.
Q: Why was the head of the electric Atlas robot designed the way it is now?
Playter: Older versions of the Atlas robot did not have a head. The new version of the head is not only a tool for the robot to express its intentions, but also integrates lights that can communicate with the user.
In the original design, we tried to resemble a shape that more closely resembles a human. But the design always feels threatening, even a bit like a dystopian sci-fi work.
Therefore, we deliberately chose a round head design to make it look less human-like. We also wanted to convey a friendly atmosphere with this design.
Incidentally, the design is also borrowed from the well-known Pixar Animation Studio's small table lamp.
Q: How did all these years of experience help turn Atlas into a product?
Playter: It's not enough to have a few interesting technologies to make a product successful, you have to have a real use case and deliver real productivity around that scenario.
At first, it's possible for anyone to buy one and try it out, but it's only when you can sell multiple bots to the same customer that the business is officially open. This cannot be achieved without adequate reliability, service, and system integration.
When we started bringing Spot to market as a product a few years ago, we were actually doing a complete transformation of the company.
To do this, we have to master entirely new areas: manufacturing, servicing, evaluating the quality and reliability of robots, and building systems and tools for continuous improvement. At the same time, it also needs to be produced at a reasonable cost, then sold at a reasonable price, and ultimately profitable.
This transition will take two to three years to complete, so all those startups with only one prototype will most likely not have started the journey yet.
So, we're not in a hurry to show a technological breakthrough right now, and we're not going to show our intentions lightly until we have identified a viable product path. I think that's going to be the key to success.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
Playter: We're about to show off more control techniques in the new Atlas, the ones that have already been shown in the old version.
It is expected that the new version of the robot will be able to go to Hyundai's factory for technical verification as early as next year.
Q: What do you like most about the new Atlas?
Playter: Lightweight, small size, and high flexibility, it also has great functionality. Everyone would see it and exclaim, "Wow, that's okay!"
Other companies have been comparing us to benchmarks, and now the bar has been raised again. I believe this will eventually drive the industry forward.
Resources:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/atlas-humanoid-robot-ceo-interview
https://techcrunch.com/2024/04/17/Boston-Dynamics-Atlas-Humanoid-Robot-Goose-Electric/
https://bostondynamics.com/blog/electric-new-era-for-atlas/