Ok, so this doesn’t look as terrifying as we have come to expect from the T-800 series from Terminator, in fact it looks more like it has perfected the just-got-out-the-pub-stagger, but Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot actually has pretty amazing robot stabilisation technology.
Designed primarily for search and rescue, Atlas isn’t quite steady enough to work in the challenging terrain of the open world (it’s still hooked into a power source for one) but Boston Dynamics’ founder Marc Raibert says they are within “shooting distance” of human mobility.
That choice of words doesn’t exactly fill us with visions of peace and harmony between us and our robotic friends, but at least at this point they aren’t as creepy as Tesla’s robotic snake, just a little ‘tired and emotional.’
You can watch more alarming visions of Judgement Day with Atlas bouncing across rocks and being pelted with a cannon ball in the video above. You can also see what we assume is his pet robogoat opening a door.
The question is though; can robots tie their shoes?
Follow Science Focus onTwitter,Facebook, Instagramand Flipboard
