Boston Dynamics' New Humanoid Robot Atlas Is Here To Enslave Humanity

Boston Dynamics Is Taunting Its New Humanoid Robot To Show How Scary It Is

Boston Dynamics are clearly a group of people that haven't been to the cinema very much. If they had they would have known that the one thing you don't do after building a terrifyingly efficient new humanoid robot, is taunt it.

That terrifyingly efficient new robot is the 2nd generation Atlas robot.

Packed with advanced sensors, a LIDAR laser-based imaging system (it's as scary as it sounds) and a brand-new set of hydraulic joints Atlas 2 has increased mobility, balance, strength and dexterity.

Atlas 2 is also completely independent of any wires which means it's free to roam as far as its not inconsiderable battery will take it.

While Atlas still needs the bite-sized supercomputer on its back, the robot can now wade through snow, open doors, lift boxes and even right itself when pushed.

To demonstrate how it can do all of these things the team at Boston decided the easiest thing to do was taunt Atlas by pushing it over, taking its box away and generally doing all the things that in films, will result in a robot uprising.

Thankfully for Boston, and indeed us, Atlas remains pleasantly removed from the advances in artificial intelligence that are currently taking place.

IBM's Watson supercomputer is now capable of beating humans at most complex board games.

So for now, we can watch and marvel, safe in the knowledge that as long as Atlas doesn't start eyeing a certain building with the words 'IBM' and 'Watson' on it we won't be enslaved as a race anytime soon.

Boston Dynamics' happy outcome is that Atlas 2 will become the new tested for companies who want to build life-saving or engineering robots.

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