Hydraulic Atlas exits, electric drive rises, and a new era of humanoid robots will begin?
Boston Dynamics announces the retirement of its famous hydraulically driven bipedal humanoid robot, the Atlas, marking a new milestone in the development of humanoid robots. Boston Dynamics has unveiled a new electrically driven Atlas robot that exhibits amazing agility. This transformation not only means technological innovation, but also indicates the acceleration of the industrialization and commercial application of humanoid robots.
Humanoid robots have always been regarded as another subversive product after computers, mobile phones, and new energy vehicles, and their development potential and application prospects are very broad. The traditional hydraulic drive technology has many problems in terms of noise and leakage, which restricts the commercial promotion of humanoid robots.
Boston Dynamics is launching a new electrically driven Atlas robot to break through this bottleneck. Compared to the hydraulic version, the new robot uses an electric drive concept, which not only enables more flexible movements, but also effectively reduces the risk of noise and leakage, and is more environmentally friendly and energy-saving.
Judging by the public video, the action of the new Atlas robot is breathtaking. It can easily perform difficult movements that are difficult for humans to achieve, such as reverse crab steps, 180-degree rotations, etc., showing incredible flexibility. This is all thanks to Boston Dynamics' custom high-power actuators for the robot's joints, giving it a huge range of motion.
It's easy to see that Boston Dynamics didn't limit itself to making robots as human-like as possible when designing the new Atlas. Instead, they are looking to create machines that can do things that humans can't, taking full advantage of the unique advantages of robots. This design concept will undoubtedly drive the leap forward in humanoid robot technology.
Notably, Boston Dynamics emphasizes that the movements of the new Atlas robot will be practically useful in an industrial setting. For example, the reverse crab leg technique demonstrated can be used in a narrow space. This means that the new Atlas may be applied to scenarios such as factory floors in the future, replacing manual work with high intensity and high risk, which will help improve production efficiency and reduce labor costs.
In addition to the industrial field, the new generation of electrically driven Atlas robots also has broad application prospects in other fields. For example, in disaster relief, it can enter small spaces that are difficult for humans to reach to search for survivors, and in the field of exploration, it can replace humans in some high-risk missions, such as Mars exploration.
To achieve large-scale commercial application of humanoid robots, technological innovation alone is far from enough. More importantly, it is necessary to establish a sound industrial ecosystem. Boston Dynamics' transformation is precisely to promote the industrialization process of humanoid robots.
Compared to hydraulic drives, electric drive solutions are beneficial for large-scale production and cost reduction. Electrically driven robots are also more convenient to maintain and use, which will help expand more application scenarios and foster new business models.
The Chinese government attaches great importance to the development of the humanoid robot industry and has introduced relevant policies and measures. In 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other eight departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots", proposing to achieve mass production of humanoid robots by 2025 and cultivate a number of leading enterprises.
This will undoubtedly inject strong impetus into the development of the humanoid robot industry. In recent years, China has made great strides in this field, with a number of innovative enterprises emerging and increasing technological strength. With the release of policy dividends, the humanoid robot industry is expected to grow further.
The road to humanoid robotics has not been easy. At the technical level, how to improve the intelligent level of robots and how to achieve long-term efficient operation are all problems that need to be solved urgently. The ethical issues of humanoid robots also need to be paid attention to, such as how to avoid potential safety hazards and how to protect personal privacy, etc., and corresponding laws and regulations need to be formulated.
Humanoid robots are moving from concept to reality, and will be widely used in many fields such as industry, service, and rescue in the future, becoming an important force to promote social progress. The transformation of Boston Dynamics will undoubtedly inject new impetus into the development of the humanoid robot industry. Let's wait and see, a new era is coming.