A recent survey of American parents found that roughly three-quarters were concerned a robot might take their kid’s job. Well, parents of new grads: Be more worried.
In the latest video from Boston Dynamics, its Atlas robot is seen running through a field autonomously, navigating the landscape on its own, and even jumping over a log in its way.
It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen — outside of the Terminator movies.
Look at this thing go:
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As Boston Dynamics describes the robot on its site:
Atlas is the latest in a line of advanced humanoid robots we are developing. Atlas’ control system coordinates motions of the arms, torso and legs to achieve whole-body mobile manipulation, greatly expanding its reach and workspace. Atlas’ ability to balance while performing tasks allows it to work in a large volume while occupying only a small footprint.
The Atlas hardware takes advantage of 3D printing to save weight and space, resulting in a remarkable compact robot with high strength-to-weight ratio and a dramatically large workspace. Stereo vision, range sensing and other sensors give Atlas the ability to manipulate objects in its environment and to travel on rough terrain. Atlas keeps its balance when jostled or pushed and can get up if it tips over.
While robots are hardly flawless workers — Elon Musk recently said humans are “underrated” after robots slowed down production at Tesla — they’re taking on increasingly complicated tasks. South Korea currently leads in robot adoption in the workforce globally. Michigan has the most robots in the United States.
Meanwhile, in a separate video, Boston Dynamics’ SpotMini robot — which is more dog-like — is shown climbing up and down stairs with ease:
This one’s more Black Mirror than Terminator. But it can still come for human jobs…