MIT Demonstrate Atlas Robots New Trick

Remember the multi talented Atlas robot created by Boston Dynamics? Well it looks like it’s still being improved upon since it’s 2013 outing at the DARPA Robotics Challenge. While this is still one of the most capable humanoid robots on the planet, it’s still picking up new tricks and after some recent upgrades a team at MIT have taught Atlas to carry objects of different weights in each hand.

Carrying two different weight and/or size objects doesn’t sound overly impressive, but the way different objects behave has profound effects on movement, balance and more. Having this capability gives the Atlas robot a much wider range of real-world applications, such as carrying a heavy shield in one hand and a sawn off shotgun in the other… oh wait, I mean for things like construction or clearing out dangerous debris in disaster zones that would otherwise be unsafe for humans.

In the video below you can see Atlas dragging around a sizeable aluminium pillar with one hand. Feel free to mute the video if you’re not a fan of annoying high pitched noises.

Thank you Engadget for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Engadget.