The time to make the donuts is almost upon us, because Boston Dynamics’s terrifying Atlas robot is now an even more formidable foe in the coming robopocalypse. Just a few years ago, Atlas was reliant on a tether for its power source and was constantly, hilariously falling over. Since then, the DARPA-funded project got backing from Google, and now Atlas is off the tether and just keeps getting better (at ushering in our eventual destruction).
Let’s see what Atlas is up to lately– OH GOD WE’RE BONED WE’RE ALL SO BONED.
Boston Dynamics explains this madness:
The control software uses the whole body including legs, arms and torso, to marshal the energy and strength for jumping over the log and leaping up the steps without breaking its pace. (Step height 40 cm.) Atlas uses computer vision to locate itself with respect to visible markers on the approach to hit the terrain accurately.
Oh good, this apocalypse on two legs can now do parkour. So not only will it have better balance than us when judgment day comes, but it’ll also be doing parkour to provide us with the added insult of being killed by somebody who’s doing parkour. The indignity of it all.
(Via Geekologie)