The Atlas Robot Is Dead. Long Live the Atlas Robot Leave a comment
You don’t must have been petrified by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Skynet-commissioned cyborg murderer in 1984’s The Terminator to stress that super-strong, all-terrain, bipedal humanoid robots sprinting up steps, pulling backflips, and righting themselves might be programmed to interrupt our necks on sight. (And laser weapons, by no means give them laser weapons.)
With the Outdated Atlas, we might consolation ourselves with the notion that intelligent modifying meant Atlas wasn’t as self-righting over tough floor as the unique viral movies portrayed. The pratfalls within the retirement video show that hunch was right. Nonetheless, right now’s video may properly resurrect any robotic overlord fears you will have since suppressed. This factor is frightening, and never simply because it has a ringlight for a face. (Who had “Robotic YouTube influencer” on their 2024 bingo card?)
It was good realizing you, Outdated Atlas—you superior, pratfalling, parkouring, steel man machine.
Scary, too, when you’re an Amazon warehouse employee, as a result of the New Atlas might try this job with one three-fingered hand tied behind its matte grey robotic again. Extra seemingly, nevertheless, is that Hyundai—which purchased Boston Dynamics in 2020, valuing it at $1 billion—might quickly set Atlas to work in its automobile factories. The “journey will begin with Hyundai,” confirmed Boston Dynamics in an announcement asserting the All New Atlas launch.
Once more, no particulars have been launched, however we are able to surmise that the brand new Atlas might be given boring, repetitive duties within the Korean firm’s factories reasonably than, say, laser welding. (Bear in mind, preserve lasers away from robotic butlers.)
Hyundai isn’t the one firm planning to make use of humanoid robots as employees. Beating Tesla’s still-in-development Optimus line of humanoid robots, Sanctuary AI of Canada introduced on April 11 that it will be delivering a humanoid robotic to Magna, an Austrian automotive agency that assembles automobiles for Mercedes, Jaguar, and BMW.
And Californian robotics startup Determine introduced in February that it had raised $675 million from traders corresponding to Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon to work with OpenAI on generative synthetic intelligence for humanoid robots.
A general-purpose humanoid robotic that may be taught on the fly. What might presumably go mistaken with that?
