Inside the Lab: Taking Atlas From Sim to Scaffold

How does Atlas recognize and interact with objects? How do we develop new Atlas behaviors? Why is manipulation important for the future of robotics?
Join our team in the Atlas lab to discover the answers to these questions and more. Learn more about how Atlas makes decisions about its environment on our blog: www.bostondyna...
00:00: Introduction
01:57: Perception and Manipulation
05:11: Electrical Doctors
06:29: Developing in Simulation
07:13: "Sick Trick"
08:24: What's Next?
#BostonDynamics #robotics

[@TimeBucks]

This is absolutely incredible!

[@PINTU754]

Yes

[@manueldasilva4395]

excellent

[@setarifsetari]

It is !

[@sagar805h]

Nice

[@kuldeepsoni86]

Awesome app

[@fox4snce]

The work you are doing is both terrifying and mind-blowingly awesome.

[@darkkingastos4369]

Yeah imagine the bot that is supposed to help you at your worksite started throwing bags of tools and trying to do backflips putting people and equipment in jeapardy.

[@rizdalegend]

@@darkkingastos4369 so basically an apprentice that post to tik tok, or how ever you spell it...

[@user-qjvqfjv]

How is this terrifying?

[@aa-tx7th]

"hOw Is ThiS TerRiFyIng?" you CANNOT be this thick. if that thing "decides" to f!$k you up, if it malfunctions and yeets a chunk of metal or stone at your empty head, if it isnt programmed perfectly at ALL stages of manufacture AND use by EVERYONE that is in control of it... if it leans on you. if it falls on you... if it grabs you... if you get in its way... you. are. DEAD. you will NOT stop it. you will NOT move it or push it away or off of you. youre literally just f!&king dead. this thing is literally a *pickup truck* with a mind of its own. if youre NOT afraid of this thing you do not belong ANYWHERE near heavy machinery.

[@user-qjvqfjv]

@@aa-tx7th Dude, go outside and touch grass. You've been watching way too many sci-fi movies. Stop living in irrational fear.

[@1Lyc]

the guy at 5:11 is my inspiration for getting into electronics. being an electrical doctor for robots. since i was small and saw geordi la forge do maintenance on data. i'm so happy repairing "normal" electronics and imagining in the bigger picture i'm part of the infancy of atlas and his successors futures. you guys are an inspiration and always make me go "what a time to be alive" with every video

[@TonyTylerDraws]

Have you seen the Boston Dynamics interviews with their roboticists?

[@wtfworld814]

@@TonyTylerDraws Boston dynamics is wack there code programing is completely wrong. Runnin down a dead end road, good example of what not to do

[@Kumari_44]

@@wtfworld814 what makes you say this? Can you go deeper on this?

[@3ountyhunter]

@@wtfworld814 Please enlighten us about how much you know about their code base and how it's "wack".

[@wtfworld814]

@@Kumari_44 no I can't, there actually spot on, I just got into an argument with my wife and needed to tell someone they were wrong, sorry

[@Kralasaurusx]

I LOVE how this includes the "failures" along the way, rather than just a hyper-edited selection of only the most "successful" clips, because this shows the progress on a much deeper level, and that the Atlas system is truly learning to see and interact with the world - not just hermetically choreographed sequences that look good on camera but don't work in the real world. Nice work.

[@jam99]

Absolutely. It's also telling how nobody cares that the 's' in 'Boston' on the front of the robot has been partially rubbed off by lots of mistakes. This company clearly has integrity and really cares about what is important with this development. Real engineers and really inspirational. (Not marketing BS we see so much these days with certain other companies.)

[@JohnSmith-pn2vl]

y but actually htey did eactly that all the time

[@tanjongmalim6869]

@@jam99 yes... especially especially China companies

[@mahachams6113]

Happy holidays 🎊🎄 to all those years ago to send you a new job for the robots ☺️🧋🫂👾🈲💔🗨️🤍🎼📸🗝️🤖👾®️⛄🧳🧳🇨🇦👍📖🧋

[@mrhobs]

@jam99 Yeah I used to follow ASIMO updates back in the day, but it was always so theoretical, and any demonstrations were clearly faked or just remote controlled… I mean it was an impressive machine, nothing really walked like that before ASIMO, but the promo videos would always claim way more than was even close to reality. (BTW, I know there was work done in more natural gait robots, but… they didn’t get funding I guess… not sure what happened. Then Boston Dynamics came along. Still doesn’t seem to have the natural stride of some of those walkers I’ve seen… but getting there

[@dustincurtis9418]

The scuffed armour is badass, the tensioning of the legs under load on landing the multi axis flip is superb.

[@deildegast]

Love the "Dr. Zoidberg" at 6:45, it looks like your company has the environment to not only design state of the art robots but also to goof around a bit and have fun :)

[@aggonzalezdc]

The only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down. Dr. Zoidberg Test: Complete

[@Real28]

@@aggonzalezdc great reference

[@bureaucratbayonet]

Me: this thing will usher in the apocalypse Scientist: Why not zoidberg?

[@jaredes5666]

now they just need to make it run on alcohol and tell people to bite its shiny metal a**

[@TheGugustar]

I thought it was the crabmen from South Park

[@BrianIrwin]

I love the demo videos and they are easy to share, but seeing some more behind the scenes stuff here is just great.

[@BUZZK1LL2000]

7:05 Don't know if anyone thought this but it's mindblowing to me that this is the first time I've felt compassion for a robot. It obviously doesn't feel any pain and so wasn't reaching to its side because of this but something about that action after falling and the way it was dragged off with limp legs looked so unbelievably human. This is going to be a strange world to live in one day.

[@Stellarnaut]

Robot looks doubled over in pain 💀💀💀

[@Jairjax]

@@Stellarnaut ah hell nah they got him rigged with the hidden pain sensors

[@stampinturtles]

I felt that too and in other videos of robots being pushed around, teased, etc. I guess it goes back to our compassion that God instilled in us. I wouldn’t like to watch a stuffed animal be torn apart or beaten yet I know it doesn’t feel anything. I don’t want my car to get dented either. I’ve named my cars in the past even though they aren’t alive. Maybe we just connect more with objects when they are named.

[@deejay7339]

you only feel compassion because it LOOKS human, it's NOT human. Something future generations will grasp better than ours.

[@djbis]

Same here Buzzk1ll.

[@p.t.anderson1593]

I appreciate that the scrapes and dents in Atlas's bodywork have been left intact. It gives it a kind of honesty that comes from hard work and effort. Thanks... EDIT: To everyone who thinks this is simple cost cutting. I doubt it. I'm sure they have the money to have a spare set of bodywork to throw on after most of the testing is done and they know the public is about to see the latest moves. I usually avoid speculation but my guess would be that they were too busy just trying to make it work and they didn't really think about the aesthetics. Glad they didn't, makes it so much more relatable.

[@cyrileo]

Thanks so much! Glad you appreciate the hard work and effort put into making Atlas's movements believable 👨‍💻I'm sure all that effort paid off!

[@asterlofts1565]

True. Thanks to that, it gives more credibility to the project/work of these people. Plus, it gives it a "Cyberpunk" look, from the damage that looks like it went through a lot to get to where it is, without being a sci-fi bad thing, of course. Although that won't stop people from thinking this is done in CGI. XD

[@templar23]

Well said.

[@dhayes907]

Shows character. If you don't have a few scars then you aren't trying.

[@haphazardprism]

Saves a few bucks

[@kennyvanvliet7569]

I'm curious, are you all going to advance Atlas' feet? A few times I saw him lose balance and fall, and saw many times that he would simply jump to turn around. What about if he were to be carrying an object with a non-stable center of mass, such as a bucket of liquid or small particulates? We generally use our toes to exert a balancing force when picking up objects, carrying, throwing them. I'd just be interested to know the current thoughts on this, and where you are in the iterative process.

[@ejwerme]

One of the more challenging things this human has had to do is to pick up and move a tray full photographic chemical solution. Damping out the oscillations (waves) in the tray requires a lot of concentration and quick (but tiny) responses. Try it with a large casserole dish with an inch of water in it. Outside.

[@watsonwrote]

Yeah, the human foot has a great deal of bones compared to other parts of the body, and there are many nuances in how it can articulate. Some of that complexity is due to our ability to switch "gears" from low-energy walking on our heels to high energy running on the balls of our feet, so for a slow robot we could probably reduce the complexity to focus on walking articulation.

[@ep8310]

@@ejwerme I have this struggle every time I take my cat's shallow water bowls to clean and refill. I really should fill with a cup but the challenge not to spill is exhilirating lol

[@3mmmmmm]

One of the main issues with balancing the robot is that it cannot react fast enough to regain balance like a person would do instinctively, not to mention that its not as balanced as a human body because of the hydraulics, bearings, batteries, cameras and etc. Improving it's feet too much to the point its better than a human with proper shoes would kind of defeat it's purpose as of now.

[@maxington26]

@@ejwerme I remember learning to desynchronise my footsteps with the oscillations in my cup of strong black coffee, on my way back from the office kitchen. That would be a new level of analysis for this tech. No doubt it's coming.

[@Clint_Moto34]

That flip is insane. It is amazing that you come so far with Atlas! I cant wait for its Future.

[@swordmonkey6635]

The fact that you're programing Atlas to anticipate into the future is amazing. Watching Atlas calculating on how it's going to pick up the bag as it's still moving towards it made my jaw drop. Great work!

[@VividCoding]

Lets combine this with GPT models already :D

[@kirikiri44695]

​@@VividCoding and than get ready for dystopia

[@tbuk8350]

​@@VividCodinglet's not do that. GPT models suck, we should wait until there's something more lightweight that is reasonable to run on an embedded machine like the one in Atlas.

[@StormcloudLive]

The way he holds position in the hop after the sick trick at the end is awesome, just perfect pose to let the energy which went into the jump out and spring what looks like effortlessly back down to land on it's feet again, Atlas and Boston Dynamics are incredible.

[@lmrandlette]

It - not he

[@StormcloudLive]

@@lmrandlette they named him Atlas after the Greek God, it's a masculine name. Unlike yourself I'm sure this robot couldn't give a flying f what gender people refer to it as anyway.

[@SaintSaint]

@@StormcloudLive Could be more of a reminder to others to not give AI/Robots human rights. Ascribing animal traits to something that isn't an animal isn't new for humans... but there is a newer level of danger in doing so.

[@Pete_xp]

@@StormcloudLive pronouns please! 😉

[@StormcloudLive]

@@Pete_xp are yours Pete / Poot? 😁😅

[@Skott62]

If I was a software developer this is the kind of thing I would love to be a part of. I am truly amazed what Boston Dynamics has accomplished with robotics.

[@robocu4]

With 3d printing advancements making the technology more accessible, I'd bet lots of hobbyist robot developers will start appearing in the coming decade as the software for designing and emulating real world physics improves. I'm excited to see robots in the real world

[@leeoiou7295]

I feel you. Every software "engineer" these days seem to be making websites. lol

[@conorstewart2214]

@@leeoiou7295 software engineering deals with stuff like data analysis, making applications and creating websites and games, etc. It is pretty different from making robots or other systems that interact with or measure the real world. Sure having a software engineer on the team may be helpful but it seems they aren’t purely a software engineer. You also then get subsets within software engineering like machine learning or video processing, although from what I have seen those can also be taught to EEs. The physics and equations used and reading the data from the sensors is much more the domain of mechanical and electrical engineers than it is software engineers. Writing code for embedded systems is very different from writing code designed to run on a desktop computer or server. A lot of what software engineers may be used to using just doesn’t work or isn’t a good idea, like a lot of embedded systems need programmed in C, not Python since performance is limited, or you can’t use recursion all that much due to limited memory and stack. Not saying that you don’t need software engineers just that a pure software engineer wouldn’t be that useful, it might be better to capture them under the umbrella term of robotics engineer, which is a very broad term combining, electrical, mechanical and a little bit of software engineering amongst other disciplines. There is a big difference between writing software to run on a server or computer and running it on a physical device like a robot.

[@leeoiou7295]

@@conorstewart2214 "Software engineering" itself is a false term. There are some software developers who do some real engineering stuff like OS developers, aviation software, embedded software, AI/ML OpenGL devs and some game devs. The vast majority of software "engineers" make websites and apps. Which has nothing to do with science or engineering and is nothing but a bastardisation of the word "engineering".

[@gusik89]

@@conorstewart2214 Of course pure software engineer would not do much here, as would not do pure electrical engineer or mechanical engineer. In complex systems like this you need experts in their respective fields to put this whole thing together. But the work of software engineer here is as important as of electrical engineer or mechanical engineer. Without actual proper software your sensors and the entire robot is just a piece of metal. Can an electrical engineer write some code, probably. Can a software engineer connect a few pins and wires probably can. But it takes a lot to build these things hence they have software engineers and electric engineers not just one doing everything. Concerning embedded system development of course it might take some different tools and languages to work with it, but it is still a software and any competent software engineer who worked for example in system development or even in web dev can handle it.

[@philiporme3945]

The minute movements Atlas makes are just absolutely incredible. Incredibly human like.

[@cogoid]

The "sick trick" is amazing, but it was also nice to see the human faces behind this awesome technology! Only relatively recently Boston Dynamics started to make these little documentary style presentations, to better explain what is it that they are doing. I think they are great, and really help to create a more positive image of the company.

[@richardmattingly7000]

Astonishing how this makes one wonder how incredible our own bodies are since we are unconscious about how intricate just picking up an object is for us. Decades ago Disney amongst others found out that fluid motion in it mechanical characters weren't about stopping but returning to a fixed point when moving. They called it compliance, by having an armature slow then use its inertia to return to the point desire not just halt allowed a motion few though possible in an animated device.

[@ejwerme]

Here's an amusing anecdote from early days. A computerized arm that was was being used by an early hand-eye system was programmed to gather and stack some childhood blocks. It tried to stack the topmost block first. The programmers realized that they had learned about gravity well before they ever attempted to stack blocks. So they had to go back to the _real basics_ and add that knowledge to their software. Yes, some of the most impressive work Boston Dynamics has done is in the stuff we all take for granted.

[@apatrioticamerican99]

Yes and it all happened "by accident."

[@caesarsalad1170]

@@apatrioticamerican99 It's either that or God, or aliens, basically the same thing if they can create a universe.

[@JamesFaction]

@Caleb OKAYregardless whether or not you believe in God, your statement is meaningless.

[@tmarxde]

And it took evolution millions and millions of years to get where we are now. I'm curious how far Boston Dynamics will get.

[@karelpgbr]

I love that you guys kept the scratches, dings and dents on Atlas' body! Shows the process!

[@senju2024]

Robot replies.." That is what I was thinking of leaving scratches, dings and dents on humans after I push them down"

[@patti441]

I think they break enough parts and if a Part is not broken there is no use to replace it I don't think the scrapes and dents are left there intentionally

[@nutbastard]

@@patti441 That's reasonable, but imagine if this were being developed by Apple. No way they'd show it off with blemishes.

[@groovetorped]

You guys being able to make Atlas understand what it "sees" and what to do with it is truly mind boggling.

[@resonanceofambition]

Gotta say, it looks a lot more fluid in the movement department compared to the last video we saw!

[@applechocolate4U]

Boston Dynamics is easily, by a huge margin, my favorite company to ever exist. Every time I see one of these demonstrations I'm blown away

[@edmyeg]

@medved3027 you're very short sighted and not thinking big at all. If you think this is useless now, just wait until the robotic body is paired with the super computer A.I mind to replace you for your job over night. 😉

[@boss_bonard7573]

​​@@medved3027till this is just the first step. Spot is finished in the hardware aspect and can be used autonomously. atlas is still very much in development and i presume they want to finish hardware, balance and recognition before making it autonomous.

[@SianaGearz]

@@medved3027 Why? Spot has a decent number of sales doesn't it? It's a good bit short of sustaining the company given the breadth and depth of other projects, but the product must by all reason be doing real work. Not all of it has to be autonomous. Some can be scripted/automated, repetitive tasks; and other tasks may require operator remote, which is still useful in hazardous environments, and it's affordable enough for numerous scenarios. Atlas is a long way away from being more useful than Spot, but... well without moonshot projects, you'll just run out of incremental progress you can make.

[@DR-sv8ke]

@@medved3027 lol okay, Mister AI.

[@johnl.7754]

@@SianaGearz It’s not profitable which is why its owners have changed couple times over the years. It’s still amazing but not easy to create.

[@alexwillette9744]

This is a fantastic exposé on the process! I've shared it with both of my robotics teams! I'm excited to watch them grow and build some robots of their own this year, hopefully they can take some inspiration from this video

[@davidtwig9970]

No way

[@yfnhunt]

hopefully yall do well, i wish yall the best of luck

[@inmemoryofin]

There's one moment in this that always catches my attention. The way the duffel bag lands, slides and spins perfectly so that it lands in front of the person is so perfect. I keep wondering if that was programmed into the sequence or if it happened by chance?

[@MrHerobrineHunters]

From 3:04 they talk about how they try to make atlas include the mass of the heavy objects into its movement calculations. My guess is that this movement is not hard coded, but shows the result of the code being able to calculate the trajectory of the bag after receiving instructions like: take bag at approximately location X, go to location Y and throw to location Z. I assume the physics calculations happened on the fly

[@stevennagley3407]

That moment was probably caught after many test runs, probably run it in simulator for several times then many calibrations… don’t think that happen first time running one simulator run

[@skamarfire]

CGI is a hell of a drug

[@mixmaster1905]

​@@skamarfireyour life is pretty sad man

[@leo12061]

@@skamarfireI know I won’t be able to change your opinion, and that’s ok, but there’s actual real places where you can go see Atlas and Spot. I saw them once. I used to think this was CGI as well.

[@RatJan]

I am envious of the young folks just starting their careers with Boston Dynamics. What utterly amazing work you're doing. I understand you're working with NASA, and I'm hoping to see Atlas running across Mars some day.

[@frankprintz2574]

Stop

[@nandosaez7368]

6:45 that Zoidberg dance

[@GetToThePointAlready]

Atlas is by far my favorite Boston dynamics robot.

[@1ceblock]

mine too

[@abstratogvm136]

Second best for me, after Spot

[@Alexey7zz]

but spot... the dog-robot... but what do you say if thay have some cat-robots?:D

[@mho...]

Spot is cooler tho!

[@lolrip818]

@@mho... can spot do backflips 😂

[@dlerious77]

Following these robots for so many years I still get excited at all the improvements and capabilities your team is accomplishing! What will the future of atlas be....I can't wait to see!

[@thikim7056]

ok

[@luctan881]

ok

[@tamthuong4048]

ok

[@iamlordstarbuilder5595]

I think Atlas, or else some descendant of it, will end up housing the first AGI.

[@DanielRamirez-go7kc]

I always feel like engineers of all varieties never get enough credit for the things they create to existence, in which they make are lives easier. They are very important people that change are lives

[@JeanSantana000]

Boston Dynamics robots are like a time machine to the future. They're so advanced, they're practically from the year 2050. I mean, have you seen the way they move? It's like they're from a science fiction movie. And the best part? They're available now, no need to wait for the future to catch up. Written by ChatGPT

[@rahulbanerjee6635]

2150 yrs

[@martiddy]

In the year 2050, we're gonna have android robots so advanced as the ones from Detroit: Become Human.

[@Machiavelli2pc]

In 2030 we’ll have robots with extremely advanced and powerful actuators that can make true robots/androids that are as strong/stronger whilst being as flexible and agile as humans, together with denser battery breakthroughs and far more advanced ai neural systems enabling robots to be as smart/smarter and capable as humans whilst being able to emulate consciousness. It really is coming, fast. I’m beyond excited. I will say however, I think androids/robots should always be distinct from humans (even androids with human forms) I.e not having human-like skin etc. I wouldn’t mind dating a robot girl lol

[@owensparks5013]

Outstanding! Is there any chance of more frequent and longer episodes?

[@spol]

Sadly, they're first and foremost a company, not an entertainment channel.

[@JigilJigil]

@@spol To be realistic they are not really a company, after 3 decades they are more of a robotic research institution, they almost make no money (their revenue is a very small fraction of their expenses) and they won't be profitable for a long time, that's the reason Google and Softbank sold them and Hyundai will probably do that too.

[@owensparks5013]

@spol True enough. I wonder if there is such a thing as an impulse purchase of a spot robot? Would the revenue of a few generated sales cover the salary of a full-time Boston Dynamics vlogger or youtuberist?

[@benruckel872]

@@JigilJigil Hyundai is more invested in robotics

[@user-rz6wu3eo8k]

@@JigilJigil that's why they started selling their robotic dog. :)

[@MakeScienceLM]

Una pieza maestra de ingeniería y programación, cada vez nos sorprende más la naturalidad con que hace los movimientos etc. Que gran trabajo!!

[@skypuppeteer]

I'm still in shock--and utterly in love with--how fluidly and life/human-like Atlas has gotten while moving. It's so impressive, and my paternal instincts agree, because I can tell that my mind is already trying to pack-bond with 'em. I'm about to become the proud soccer mom for a highly-sophisticated robot-

[@yourmandom9568]

Paternal or Maternal? Cant have fatherly instincts and be a soccer mom simultaneously lol

[@skypuppeteer]

@@yourmandom9568 I was using it kind of like "parental," but words are weird, especially gendered ones

[@BioShocq]

Please never stop making videos like this, in this style, it's so good.

[@ashishsontakke4040]

They are not making videos buddy 😂😂

[@jwadaow]

@@ashishsontakke4040 This is a video, on a video sharing service.

[@ashishsontakke4040]

@@jwadaow 😂😂 u didn't get that

[@kangkimin886]

@@jwadaow they are making robot, not video like youtuber that show everything they want for adsense.

[@Jeremy_Fielding]

Inside the lab is my favorite "series" from this channel. Thank you for sharing this inside look at what it takes to make machines like this.

[@djbis]

"sick trick" at the end was indeed very sick. That landing felt so human. The way it is able to calculate the energy and move in order to arrest the momentum so it doesn't fall is simply sick. This is pure sci-fi becoming reality right before our eyes and we are lucky to be the generation that sees it go from a concept to an actual reality.

[@sbrown7210]

The work that everyone does at Boston Dynamics is always so impressive. I love seeing the Robot updates. Thanks. Look forward to a home version of Spot, tied into home safety and security.

[@desjardinsjp93]

I know there's a lot of people who are scared of robots and AI but i don't care and i just want to see how far it will go. We're getting closer and closer to robots like ATLAS being able to executee complex commands such as clean the whole house, drive a car from point A to point B, do an open heart surgery, etc. The possibilities are endless and I'm really excited to see how it goes.

[@martiddy]

why have a robot to drive a normal car when we can have robot cars that are self driving?

[@desjardinsjp93]

@@martiddy you should ask yourself why not? :p

[@martiddy]

@@desjardinsjp93 Maybe we can have both I guess

[@ultimategamer2669]

We could literally use robots to terraform planets and build a dyson sphere. You bet your ass the possibilities are endless.

[@desjardinsjp93]

@@martiddy yes we can. Why have just one ahah

[@DoctorX17]

The spin-flip was WILD. It’s amazing how gracefully it can do things that pro athletes practice years to do!

[@mindyours752]

That right there should be very scary

[@Kumari_44]

@@mindyours752 i literally said this exact same thing in another thread up top.

[@MaMastoast]

Why is it very scary ? Robotics can already do things we are incapable of.. we have been using cranes to lift and move heavy things for years

[@dregga7638]

@@MaMastoast It is about really specific things, not everything. There are specific things that potentially can be used against you.

[@DoctorX17]

@@MaMastoast the scary thing isn’t the physical capability existing - it’s the fact that the machine is acting on its own more than a human is controlling it. Cranes, heavy construction equipment, things that could easily squish humans, are all operated by humans and human intent; Atlas is given instructions and carries them out on its own. What if an AI were to decide what instructions to send? And what if that AI decides to do things that are bad for humans, and between being able to formulate and execute plans faster and superior power in hardware it decided to destroy humanity? I don’t think it’s likely to happen, but there is something scary about autonomous machines that could take out humans.

[@Richardkowalski60]

Amazing work! What is impressive is the dismount at the end flip, as you can see in lands almost perfectly but has to make a small adjustment and takes a small skip to keep its balance. WOW

[@vynpetrol]

You guys are absolutely amazing.

[@majorzipf8947]

Their passion is palpable

[@toastrecon]

Okay, that's pretty amazing! The finding the bag in the environment and then strategizing on how to interact with it is so cool.

[@SheSweetLikSugarNSavage]

Atlas is super cute to watch. Like watching a child learning to play. Job well done team.

[@Professionalyoutubeviewer]

It’s so bittersweet, to be alive during a time where we can hypothesize and begin to create such amazing things but knowing you won’t live to experience and interact with them yourself. I suppose it’s just a part of the human condition, there would always be things I wouldn’t get to experience regardless when my life occurred, but to have witnessed the birth of such technologies as this it’s especially disheartening knowing I’ll never get to thoroughly experience it myself.

[@magicmarcell]

Who knows. Things accelerate fast and faster and some jumps are massive

[@thorkagemob1297]

Watching the evolution of you guys in real time on KZbin has been absolutely crazy. It really is incredible and scary at the same time but i have hope we'd have some robot allies among rogue ai's idk maybe i watch too much stuff lmao

[@cskhard]

The last trick is called a B-Twist! Greatly done, can't wait to see when they do corkscrews haha

[@zekeaffy9647]

This is truly a magnificent piece of engineering feat

[@andrew_tc]

Mindblowing! Those moves are just unreal. I love what you're doing!

[@fat3228]

Its crazy how talented these people are.

[@pound_chanart8848]

This robot is constantly evolving. This is the best moving robot I've ever seen. I'm going to watch it over and over.

[@kiradead666]

The Atlas knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation. The guidance subsystem uses deviations to generate corrective commands to drive the Atlas from a position where it is to a position where it isn't, and arriving at a position where it wasn't, it now is. Consequently, the position where it is, is now the position that it wasn't, and it follows that the position that it was, is now the position that it isn't. In the event that the position that it is in is not the position that it wasn't, the system has acquired a variation, the variation being the difference between where the Atlas is, and where it wasn't. If variation is considered to be a significant factor, it too may be corrected by the GEA. However, the Atlas must also know where it was. The Atlas guidance computer scenario works as follows. Because a variation has modified some of the information the missile has obtained, it is not sure just where it is. However, it is sure where it isn't, within reason, and it knows where it was. It now subtracts where it should be from where it wasn't, or vice-versa, and by differentiating this from the algebraic sum of where it shouldn't be, and where it was, it is able to obtain the deviation and its variation, which is called error

[@imbw267]

6:50 whoop whoop whoop!

[@shatterpointgames]

What I love about these videos is they just make you appreciate how awesome you are. It's taken huge teams, years, and hundreds of millions of dollars for a robot to perform simple scripted tasks that a human can do with ease. I'm not trying to be weird or spiritual or anything, but it's amazing that a woman's body can produce something far more advanced than this robot and you don't even have to think about it, it just happens.

[@ArunKumar-pu8gi]

Underrated for sure

[@LucasDimoveo]

Earth life has billions of years on machines. Of course we'd be more complex (for the time being)

[@smhdpt12]

A woman couldn't do that, come on...lol

[@shatterpointgames]

@@LucasDimoveo I was waiting for this exact comment! You're really original! Congratulations Generic human #7,568,305,105 you earned the predictable comment of the year award!

[@shatterpointgames]

@@smhdpt12 She could make a man that could

[@YellowJeff94]

It is astounding how much progress has taken place within the last few years if you compare Atlas in the Darpa Robotics Challenge to now. I am thrilled at what more can happen from this point onwards. Imagine Atlas removing debris from disaster scenarios and carrying people to shelter. Climbing a fence to chase after a criminal. Or running up a wall and performing a backflip for the next amazing trick.

[@jermwarfare5977]

The Zoidberg dance was fantastic

[@lastmanstanding8992]

*When people look at robot it's so refined and dexterous but people forget that tough hardcore programming which is the only thing making it do it everything*

[@qweasd2204]

Поистине удивительно! Но ещё удивительнее, что такие чудеса творит человеческий разум! Искренне желаю вашей компании новых успехов)

[@uaiguaig3592]

Скоро эти роботы будут оснащены автоматическим оружием и использованы армией США для своих войн

[@gydratv372]

@@uaiguaig3592 Ты пропустил 2016год. 🗿 Иди возвращйся к старой видио.

[@gydratv372]

@@uaiguaig3592 Объеснять таким как ты честно что нечего не сказать Zомби Vолоди. 😑

[@Max_Jacoby]

@@gydratv372 такая технология не останется в стороне от военных. Роботы в армии это неизбежное будущее.

[@gydratv372]

@@Max_Jacoby Я говарю про Бостон дайнемикс а не других роботов. 🗿

[@amazeddude1780]

When an average human thinks about the repertoire of actions they can execute, that is a small fraction of what expert athletes are capable of doing. Watching Atlas in this short video, I wondered about how someone skilled in parkour might approach things. Seemingly bound for certain disaster is just the lead-in for a fantastic recovery.

[@ArmedAngryAtheist]

I'm going to nominate this for Best Horror Short Film at this years' Cannes Film Festival.

[@pudmupi]

I am just amazed every time I see one of your videos! You all are just so talented; it is scary! I enjoy each and every one of them. Thank you for sharing.

[@VillaDish]

I hope I get to work here one day. I've been dreaming about it since I saw their first video over a decade ago. This company feels like the future!

[@VillaDish]

@@NRIautos ok...?

[@VillaDish]

@@NRIautos yes that's what I'm gonna continue to do? Idk how ure so sure ab sth like this tho if u don't know anything ab me but hey, ure allowed to have Ur opinion Have a great day

[@thebiggesthatersinworld]

@@NRIautos what do you mean by saying like that?!

[@Leo_nonA]

@@NRIautos u good?

[@asimovstarling8806]

Honestly, I have to wonder if adding a general AI for learning might be helpful. Essentially use all the movement sims you put it through and the recorded data of all of its actual movements as training data to help it become more aware of where it's body parts are in relation to itself. Include the failures and the bad data that comes with it as well for more realistic and better results.

[@leftaroundabout]

I think one of the reasons Atlas is able to do such crazy tricks is precisely that they _don't_ just go the “throw a lot of data on a big deep neural net” route. That approach works well when you really have lots of real-world data available and when you either largely stay within the domain of what it has seen before (see self-driving cars) or you can justify crazy behaviour as “artistic creativity” (see generative models). But for the stuff they're doing here, you need to simultaneously extrapolate away from anything it's seen already, and do it with quite high precision so it doesn't end up losing balance. And for that, solid physics-maths is way more effective than trying to crush the problem with brute neural computation force.

[@asimovstarling8806]

@@leftaroundabout precisely why I recommended using a neural net trained on it's movement data with the crashes, falls, and sensory disconnections and damages used for negative stimulus in the grading of success versus failure to help it figure out where it's own limbs are in relation to its own body. I'm not talking about Route memorization. I'm talking about knowing where your leg is in relation to the rest of you when you take a step. Knowing where your hand is in relation to your shoulder when you reach for something. Basic spacial awareness. And it's the mechanical version of what we do ourselves as children.

[@leftaroundabout]

@@asimovstarling8806 it is the mechanical version of what we do ourselves as children - and that shows quite well how it's not really a good approach: humans need to spend about a year of this, multiple hours a day, thousands and thousands of tries, before they can properly walk at all. And then about a decade again, before they can pull of acrobatics. There exist mathematical tools (Kalman filters, robust stacking etc.) that can accomplish much the same thing in a far more sophisticated manner and with hardly any training data needed. Of course, nowadays with computation being so cheap, it is often economically advantageous for companies to skimp on these things, which after all still require lots of _human skill_ in the design, and instead go the brute force route. IMO this is a shame though.

[@Puleczech]

You are one of the very few companies which completely blows me away with every new release. Absolutely brutal. Thank you for your hard work and for being an inspiration to an entire generation!

[@kulgan96]

no crazy promises or shoving it in our face just hard passion work and a smile after the many hours of simulation, adjust and repair when i clears the first hurdle i love to see it keep on the hard work BD and the amusing videos:D

[@LordZero666]

Shouldn't it have more eyes to see everything around it at once ? I love Atlas. Everything Boston Dynamics does inspiring their designs on biology have turned out awesome and relatable to humans.

[@celivalg]

What would be interesting to see would be an ability to complete missing object properties, for example, the weight of the toolbox not being known, and atlas deducing it's weight from picking it up and sensing the effect it has on his balance. We humans do that too, sure we have pressure sensors on our hands, but from my experience at being a human, those are only effective for small weight ranges, when they get overloaded, we deduce the weight of things by how hard they are to pick up, how much power we need to put in our muscles etc... Not entierly sure that's how it works, I'm no expert on human physiology, but that sounds accurate to me. Atlas is going to need to do that at some point, guesstimating the weight of a rock in a disaster scenario is only going to push it so far.

[@ZacDonald]

It's doing some of that now with the location of objects. Where the bag is, where the plank is placed, where the box falls, all are imprecise and need to be adapted to.

[@WolfDT991]

It most likely will need a huge training system to label objects and their characteristics and learn different interactions. This is what Tesla is trying to accomplish with their DOJO AI training system for their robots.

[@celivalg]

@@WolfDT991 I don't think atlas is strictly based on AI, maybe it has some AI elements for vision and whatnot, but I think most of it is pure code. Mot entirely sure though, but I think that's the direction boston dynamics went

[@martiddy]

@@celivalg Is actually a combination of both hand coded algorithms and machine learning.

[@cadekachelmeier7251]

Or testing a surface to see if it's stable or can handle its weight.

[@djbis]

The level of programming and tech at work here is baffling. I'm speechless.

[@CLove511]

I appreciate that they explained how Atlas perceives the environment -- remember that when the robots rise up against us, a thin cover over a pit will look like a solid surface to them.

[@mrbond6416]

atlas just keeps looking better and better every time you release a video, good job 👍👍

[@matej_neumann]

This is absolutely incredible! Love to see the progress over the years and hopefully these robots will soon accompany us in our daily lives!

[@Fatum0722]

I didn’t see BD showed any task been done by (Atlas) our daily life tasks. Till they spending years on fancy flipping we may see them being useful in daily life task after 100 years if nothing will be changed. Things they do are cool and fun, not useful and waste of time/money 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@otaviomartins1696]

@@Fatum0722 it's called research

[@Fatum0722]

@@otaviomartins1696 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@dewe412]

As a paramedic I'd love to have this thing carry the stretcher for me.😍

[@iPrometheusQ]

I wonder whether you explicitly programmed it to do the second hop and arm extension to make the robot balance its stand. Really fascinating. It looks almost like a mocap simulation.

[@AmBush2048]

I think it's part of the predictive course corrections "I still have inertia, I must cancel it out by extending an arm in this direction to cancel it out."

[@MUZZY20]

Atlas is amazing being able to do some impressive things that you wouldn't expect from a robot

[@xKrispyx]

Seeing Atlas do his best Dr. Zoidberg impersonation made me laugh. I really enjoy seeing the progress!

[@frostyj3931]

All these videos make me understand and appreciate how unique living things are. We are complicated yet simple in a way.

[@7n39HorqinRightFront]

Every scratch and damage proves your hard work and sweat, keep up good work!

[@HarleyKing001]

Inspiring team. Love to see and follow the progress. Thank you for sharing.

[@rcjbvermilion]

Incredible work. It's amazing to see the collaboration between hardware and software. Each one on their own can only do so much, but together it's impressive.

[@smassey6848]

Wow these people are brilliant! I can’t quite understand what they are trying to explaining as this goes right over my head. Amazing! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@dilyarka_pimenova]

Boston Dynamics, you make really cool things!

[@LFTRnow]

Hey Musk! This is how robots work.

[@TheMagicJIZZ]

This isn't a good attack Remember Boston dynamics is owned by Hyundai and you seem to not understand this robot It moves more human like as it's electromechanical not electric actuator like the Optimus bot. Atlas can only last 3 hours whereas the Tesla bot seems to be for 8 hour simple box lifting or car... assembly work? Amazon distribution work? Boston dynamics only useful product is the Spot and spot mini. These videos are cool but you have to understand why it's so fast and why it's tradeoff Tesla makes their own batteries and motors!? Their own vision self driving? Maybe Elon wants to automate every factory. I don't see them as useful for home use or outdoors but I think it's two different approaches Boston dynamics seem to desire viral videos over actual manufacturing and selling of their products

[@TheKragar]

Atlas looks cool and it's not creepy to watch it move, the robot dogs though.... those things still weird me out with the the way they move. Very informative video, well spoken and easily comprehended without feeling dumbed down. Excellent work you all are doing in the research field as well as the presentation of the field of robotics/ai for the masses. (I assume based on the video that it's robot learning about it's environment and not a preprogrammed course you script it to run purely by human design.)

[@AAvfx]

Carefully executed plan! I hope that in the future we could really put things in motion without setting the environment and no preplans, like a real situation in "real-time". Then robot manufacturing companies will become a manpower supplier. "How many employees do you need this time, Rob?", "Well, for this week we'll be building a completely new house for the Smiths. so, I was thinking about renting 10 of your delighted humanoid robots- so everything will be done 'till midnight!". "NP, Doug! Sure thing! Send me the location. 10 constructer workers to go!" (Sounds apocalyptic!)

[@krisgarcia4452]

Im curious about Atlas and the drone. Does Atlas realize that the drone is in its space? If so with it moving around as fast as it does, is Atlas affected by this when it came to choosing when the throw the bag, or knock over the box? Love what you guys do!

[@angrmgmt]

Interesting question really! It's probably aware of the drone, but moving obstacles are tricky things, especially when it's a manually controlled whoop (which it looks like this is), it's very small and moves a bit erratic. I doubt that it has any programming for this yet? But I'd like to know how they plan to go about dynamic obstacles such as this, like what is the planned process if Atlas is running with a heavy load and a moving obstacle crosses it's path. How do the PID controllers adjust for this, usage of conserved momentum, braking and avoidance etc.

[@honkhonk8009]

it probably does but since its outside of its mission objective it probably ignores it. Also the TOF array it uses isnt the best in resolution. While it can see the drone for sure, it probably wont be mistaking it for a bag anytime soon

[@davidanderson5310]

It will be interesting to see how you extend this further. For instance, seeing Atlas carry a swinging bucket with one hand.

[@lostpockets2227]

ooh that's a good one. moving a bucket filled with water would be a great challenge

[@Someone-sq8im]

I'd imagine that the motors are steady enough to where the bucket will stop swinging without any sort of counterswing from the arm

[@mittfh]

The rate they're going, within a few years they'll have Atlas unicycling along a plank held aloft by a couple of Spots with grabber arms, while balancing a vertical pole held at the bottom end...

[@BlackjackRL]

This is absolutely mind blowing and fantastic! Congrats to all involved!

[@victorvanderdrift5006]

As a student graduating on model predictive control, these videos are awesome and inspiring to see!

[@sashafizik]

будущий Т800 не за горами))

[@juraj.kostka]

Incredible work! Looking forward to further improvements.

[@briancoreas1147]

Seeing Altas Grow Up Is Amazing. Enjoying From The Caribbean.

[@Nevakonaza.]

Absolutely amazing work done by Boston Dynamics,Wow what a team. .im just shocked at how advanced this machine really is and its movement is incredible,I giggled when Atlas fell off at 7:06 and fell into a position of "Ahhhh That hurts so bad" :D

[@m0arf]

I was waiting for the "ssssssss... aaaaaaaahhhh... sssssssss... aaaaaaaaah" like Peter Griffin when he falls and hurts his knee 😂🙈

[@Nevakonaza.]

@@m0arf hahaha,They'll take revenge soon on all the punishment they've been put through :D

[@m0arf]

@@Nevakonaza. they will for sure 😅and rightly so!

[@Kajos1109]

as a mechatronics student, im always in love with your creations, boston dynamics is reason i went studying mechatronics.Well one of the reasons obviously doing some kind of iron man suit was earlier but back then i didnt knew about BD :P

[@dlinnoedlinnoe]

Guys you're amazing. You really are at the top of robotics, of the future. I wish I could work with you. Hats off.

[@WkUpPeople]

The content of this video is fascinating. I love Atlas. He's almost like a person. The engineers at Boston Dynamics are brilliant. It must be so rewarding and fun to work there.

[@ohnhai]

I see these two vids as a massive flinger at Tesla Bot.... who seems little more an Asmio right now (OK it's spacial awareness is a loot better than Asimo) but Altas is (literally) a decade ahead!

[@ralang999]

Unlike Tesla bot, Asimo could walk without falling over!

[@TheMagicJIZZ]

It's not the same though. Altas is a electromechanical actuator motor robot. It's not a electric actuator only Boston dynamics is owned by Hyundai remember. The Tesla bot seems to me about working 8 hours a day lifting boxes Not running around and doing human motion fast which a battery or engine that runs for 3 hours

[@kellywilkins8043]

Followed you guys for years! It’s amazing what you have achieved! I’m anxious to see what’s next!

[@voEovove]

Really curious what impact the latest advancements in neural networks would have on its ability to navigate the real world. You guys are at the forefront of innovation to bridge the gap between AI and the world we inhabit.

[@anindyachatterjee4765]

You people are doing an unbelivable work. I never thought it could be possible.

[@pabis6817]

The “Sick Trick” was definitely a “misty flip” that Was done by an in-line skater in the 1990’s named Ryan Jacklone. Side note : would be awesome to see Atlas on Roller blades doing vert tricks.

[@Someone-sq8im]

Here's a question: You mentioned Atlas has one camera for color vision, and one for depth perception. Do you splice the feeds from the two cameras together, or are they kept separate? (Not very knowledgeable about robotics, so please correct me if this was wrong)

[@xlkfromsmwc]

They're most likely re-projecting one feed and combining it with the other (like pointing a projector onto a relief map, but with matrix math). Unless the two cameras are VERY close and have similar FoV and resolution, then you can get away with just superimposing the depth as a 4th color, but I doubt they'd use such a naive method! You want to combine them for: -Identifying objects better and figuring out how far they are/their shape (depth for object vs painted pattern, color for bump vs loose object). -Figuring out where the robot is with visual landmarks, where having the depth makes it more accurate (no estimating the depth as the robot moves, extra data. Check out "feature matching"). -Mapping the environment, though color isn't critical, it can help with "long term" landmarks so location errors don't pile up (search for "loop closing mapping"). It's a fascinating subject!

[@Auxend]

Construction - Use case - temporary fence installation and tear town. Chain link rolls - poll installation/removal. Also scaffolding.