Boston Dynamics recently showcased its humanoid robot, Atlas, demonstrating a handstand and an L-sit, revealing the first operational video of the model designed for industrial purposes.
The video captures Atlas initially balanced on its hands, maintaining a near-horizontal body position, before transitioning seamlessly into an L-sit pose – an athletic stance forming an ‘L’ shape supported solely by the arms. Remarkably, the robot sustains the posture for about five seconds before smoothly returning to a standing position, exhibiting remarkable stability without any visible tremors despite the limited hand contact area.
This particular robot showcased in the footage is not the same as the research model featured in previous displays of parkour and backflips, clarified Boston Dynamics. Referred to as the development version, it sports the serial number ‘001’ visibly displayed on its torso. Although the company unveiled the development model at CES in January, it was non-functional during that presentation.
Boston Dynamics credits the robot’s precise movements to whole-body reinforcement learning, a technique enabling the machine to acquire movement and equilibrium skills through simulated scenarios and trial and error. This learning approach is particularly effective for tasks involving continuous postural adjustments and interactions with various surfaces.
The company highlights the industrial potential of the robot’s ability to sustain full body weight on small surfaces, such as lifting heavy objects and performing tasks in positions challenging for standard equipment. The development model is set to be deployed at Hyundai Motor Group’s Metaplant America electric vehicle factory located near Savannah, Georgia.
