Author丨Zhao Yunfan
Editor丨Zhang Mingxin
On April 16, Boston Dynamics released a small video featuring the Atlas hydraulic robot that Boston Dynamics is famous for.
Different from the previous "posed" running, jumping, somersault and other vigorous postures, this time Atlas "performed" many special actions in the video: one foot in the air, one head against the wall, garlic under the feet, especially when the knee is broken, the hydraulic oil spray at the Atlas joint is like the blood mist sprayed when a real person is hit hard......
At the end of the video, Atlas bows down like a theater actor and the screen reads "Til We Meet Again".
With this video, Boston Dynamics wants to tell us that the era of Atlas hydraulics is officially over. But what do they want to do next? While it's widely believed that the Atlas could be moved to electric motor drives, the change would be tantamount to an all-electric version of the Mercedes-Benz Big G or Range Rover.
A day later, Boston Dynamics posted a new video of the electric version of the Atlas on its website and social media, with the playful caption "We guarantee this is not a real person in a straitjacket."
The electric version of Atlas certainly isn't real - he doesn't even look like a human at all. Although it has human limbs, a head, and a torso, all joints of the electric Atlas can be rotated and twisted 360 degrees. In short, there are no heads or tails for this humanoid robot.
This is the message that Boston Dynamics hopes to send to the outside world with the electric version of the Atlas.
"The Atlas may have a human-like form, but we're enabling robots to move and complete tasks in the most efficient way possible – rather than being limited by a human's range of motion. "The Atlas will move beyond human capabilities," Boston Dynamics said. Combining decades of hands-on experience with first-principles thinking, we are confident that we can deliver robots that can handle boring, dirty, and dangerous tasks in real-world applications. ”
From hydraulics to motors
Boston Dynamics may be the first company to focus on the development of bipedal robots in the 21st century.
In the early years of developing the Atlas, Boston Dynamics was faced with a difficult choice about the robot's power structure: in the early days, general-purpose motors had limited torque, but hydraulic drives could bring more power, allowing the robot to do more powerful maneuvers or achieve larger loads. But the versatility of motor power is better, and commercialization seems more promising. Which direction you choose will determine the future direction of Boston Dynamics Robotics.
In 2013, Boston Dynamics unveiled a prototype of the Atlas for the first time, with 28 degrees of freedom, an aerospace-grade aluminum-titanium alloy housing, and a vision system that combines a laser and a camera.
In terms of power, Boston Dynamics opted for hydraulics to drive the limbs. So we saw Atlas that was constantly iterating, jumping, striding and even somersaulting.
Today, nearly 11 years have passed since Boston Dynamics released the Atlas prototype. At present, the motor torque is no longer the bottleneck that plagues the dynamics and load capacity of the robot, so most of the robot manufacturers on the market use the motor as the executive drive.
This makes the Boston Dynamics Atlas, which is still sticking to the hydraulic route, a little unsociable.
A few days ago, a researcher from a leading communication company in multimodal perception fusion shared this view: "The current humanoid robot industry is in the stage of a hundred schools of thought. But on the other hand, this industry is actually an industry with a very low threshold. Everyone is contributing their own solutions, so the industry is far from the time when the technical route converges. ”
But at least in the field of general-purpose humanoid robots, the adoption of a monolithic motor scheme should not be very controversial.
"In fact, ordinary civilian robots do not need such high power as hydraulic power, and there are also problems with the endurance of hydraulic power. After the application and development of new energy vehicles in the past decade, the motor has been verified as the most suitable drive mode for commercialization. A person related to a head humanoid robot company told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter.
Another person in the hydraulic power industry expressed a different view to reporters: "Hydraulic power and electric drive will actually continue to coexist, but motors will be more used in general scenarios." In some dangerous environments that require high loads, hydraulic power will still have its place. ”
Boston Dynamics also seems to understand the limitations of hydraulic power. In the company's two subsequent commercial products, Spot (quadruped robot) and Stretch (collaborative robotic arm), Boston Dynamics partially used some electric motors as the basis for power or control systems.
Considering that there is also a need for commercialization of the Atlas, it may only be a matter of time before the liquid is converted to electricity.
"The electric version of the Atlas will be more powerful and have a wider range of motion than any of our previous generations. Boston Dynamics said in the product launch announcement.
Aim to work in the factory
Once upon a time, Boston Dynamics felt more like a research organization than a business. Boston Dynamics and Atlas have indeed gone through such a process.
According to public information, Atlas was first born by a partnership between DARPA, a branch of the U.S. military, and Boston Dynamics, and its earliest focus was on wilderness trekking capabilities. It wasn't until 2013 that Google's parent company, Alphabet, acquired Boston Dynamics, and the company began research and development of robot dogs.
In 2016, Boston Dynamics launched the four-legged robot dog Spot, which of course is still hydraulic. At that time, it was rumored that the Spot in hydraulic mode was snubbed by the U.S. military because of its high noise and inconvenience in performing tasks.
After that, Spot gradually iterated and launched a MINI version for commercial use, and even got the "work cards" of Statoil, BP, and Australian Energy.
At this time, many scandals surrounding Boston Dynamics began to appear. Boston Dynamics is reportedly discussing investment plans with Toyota, which is interested in using the company's robots in car production lines. Later, the news did not come true, but South Korea's Hyundai invested in Boston Dynamics.
"In addition to investing in us, the Hyundai team is building next-generation vehicle manufacturing capabilities that will be the perfect testing ground for the new Atlas application. In the coming months and years, we're excited to be able to show what the world's most dynamic humanoid robots can really do in the lab, in the factory, and in our lives. Boston Dynamics said after the launch of the electric version of the Atlas.
Outwardly, the new Atlas is really not a human in the traditional sense of the word - because all joints are reversible, he can make some movements with unimaginable dynamics. Considering the fact that it will be used in the industrial sector, freedom and flexibility may be more important than being human.
It is easy to make people think that the Zhiyuan Robot Expedition A1, which was previously sought after by capital in China, also uses anti-joint designs such as animal feet and bird feet, so that the front of the robot will not affect its approach to the target due to the protrusion of the joint.
"Now, the landscape of the robotics industry is very different. Our customers have already seen the success of Spot and Stretch, and they are eager to tackle their next challenge with Atlas. Given our track record of successful commercialization, we are confident in our plan to not only create an impressive R&D project, but also provide a valuable solution. Boston Dynamics noted.
SFC
Editor: Liu Xueying, Intern: Huang Lihong
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