On April 17th, Boston Dynamics, the American robotics startup, announced on its YouTube channel that its most famous bipedal robot, Atlas, will be retired.
The video stated, "Over the past decade, Atlas has sparked our imagination, inspired a new generation of roboticists, and overcome numerous obstacles in robotic technology."
"It's now time for our hydraulic Atlas robot to take a break. Let's take a look back at all the achievements made on the Atlas platform so far."
The name Atlas is derived from the Greek mythological Titan who held up the sky. In 2009, Boston Dynamics signed a $26 million contract with the U.S. Army to develop this bipedal robot, initially named PETMAN (Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin). Concurrently, other advanced robots were also under development, such as Honda's humanoid robot Asimo and Boston Dynamics' another notable creation, the BigDog.
Over the years, Atlas has achieved many remarkable feats, sparking discussions across the internet. Initially capable of walking like a human, it later progressed to walking on rough terrain. Furthermore, Atlas became battery-powered, more agile, capable of jogging, and even jumping onto boxes. Researchers even struck it with sticks, but it could still firmly grasp objects in its hands.
The moment when Atlas performed a backflip was particularly awe-inspiring, as most humans struggle to accomplish this.
The description of Atlas's retirement in the new video has puzzled some. It's unclear why Boston Dynamics stated, "It's time for our hydraulic Atlas robot to take a break," instead of referring to "our Atlas robot," and why the video's narration concluded with "let's review everything we've accomplished on the Atlas platform."
Boston Dynamics has yet to provide a response to these queries.
Currently, several startups are still developing bipedal robots, promising a future where robot assistants may become a reality – a long-awaited technological advancement. Although some companies are ahead, whether robot assistants will soon become commonplace remains to be seen.
