Boston Dynamics unveils latest Atlas humanoid upgrade

Atlas, a humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics, the robotics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, showed further advances in its capabilities in a new update released just over a month after the previous one.

Boston Dynamics released a video on its YouTube channel on Feb. 7 local time showing Atlas executing a series of gymnastic movements, including cartwheels followed by a running backflip.

In the footage, Atlas performs consecutive cartwheels and back tumbling motions with the precision of a trained gymnast, landing cleanly on both feet without visible recoil. Its movements closely mirror human athletic motion, from forcefully planting each foot in sequence to build momentum for a cartwheel to pushing off with its toes to launch into the air ahead of the backflip.

The video also shows Atlas maintaining its balance while walking and running across an icy surface without slipping. Boston Dynamics said the footage demonstrates that the robot’s continuous whole-body control capability, which allows it to stabilize itself and autonomously execute complex movements, has reached a stable stage of development.

The video also includes multiple failed attempts, showing Atlas falling while performing tumbling routines or moving across the icy terrain, at times sustaining visible damage to its components. These scenes underscore the technical difficulty of the tasks and have been widely interpreted as enhancing the video’s credibility, countering any suggestion that the footage was heavily edited or manipulated.


Won-Joo Lee takeoff@donga.com