Boston Dynamics reveals retiring humanoid robot Atlas being replaced by fully electric version

Just one day after Boston Dynamics announced that they were retiring their beloved humanoid robot Atlas, he is back and – according to his creators – better than ever.

The new fully-electric Atlas is built on decades of research and is the next step in the robotics company’s commitment to delivering the most capable, useful mobile robots to solve industry challenges.

Boston Dynamics spoke exclusively to Supercar Blondie, saying: “Today we unveiled a new, fully electric version of Atlas – the new robot is being designed for real-world commercial and industrial applications.”

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Supported by decades of visionary robotics innovation and practical experience from its predecessor, Boston Dynamics is tackling the next commercial frontier.

“The electric version of Atlas will be stronger, with a broader range of motion than any of our previous generations,” they said in a statement.

“Our last generation hydraulic Atlas (HD Atlas) could already lift and maneuver a wide variety of heavy, irregular objects; we are continuing to build on those existing capabilities and are exploring several new gripper variations to meet a diverse set of expected manipulation needs in customer environments.”

And, compared to its clumsy predecessor, the new era will push the limits of whole-body mobility and bimanual manipulation.

While Apple is creating a robot with wheels, Boston Dynamics believes that legged robots – both bipedal and four-legged – can balance and move more dynamically, allowing them to navigate unstructured, unknown, or antagonistic human terrain.

However, while Atlas 2.0 is a bipedal humanoid robot, it doesn’t limit the way it moves.

Boston Dynamics wants the new electric Atlas platform to move as efficiently as possible to complete a task, exceeding human capabilities.

Boston Dynamics is working in collaboration with Hyundai to build the next generation of automotive manufacturing capabilities to test ground for the new Atlas’ applications in the lab, factory, and everyday life.

They will also be working on a complete ecosystem of software and services needed to support autonomous mobile robots.

In fact, these robots are equipped with new AI and machine learning tools, like reinforcement learning and computer vision.

This will allow them to operate and adapt efficiently to real-world situations and the challenges that can be thrown up.