Boston Dynamics’ new humanoid moves like no robot you’ve ever seen

There are a few other things we can glimpse from the video. The hands seem to be the same thing we saw in the last Atlas video. They don't look like much in the video since, when closed, they form nondescript blocks, but these look just like the three sets of spindly fingers that were shown off in February. The fingers started the whole idea of "why should anything have a human-like motion limitation?" and also have near-360° joints that can bend backward. Atlas won't be doing small item manipulation any time soon, but these claw hands make it suited for the labor of lifting heavier objects.

Atlas has a head now! That's new. The old model just had a solid torso with no articulation at all. New Atlas has a weird sideways bucket head with a bunch of cameras on the front. In an interview with IEEE Spectrum, Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter admits the design is inspired by the Pixar Lamp character. The front and back of the robot both have blinding ring-shaped lights that presumably indicate status. By our count, there are six cameras on the front, first a horizontal line of four cameras, then a giant fish-eye lens, then one more small camera. That last camera is next to two more mysterious square sensors, probably related to lidar or time of flight or something like that. Spot the robot dog has eight forward-facing cameras, so Boston Dynamics is going light here.

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A hydraulic robot was never going to be commercially viable, but with electric motors and a much smaller form factor, Boston Dynamics says it's on the path to a commercial product. The blog post starts right off by referencing the company's other commercial robots, saying, "Our customers have seen success with Spot and Stretch, and they are eager to tackle the next challenge with Atlas. Given our track record of successful commercialization, we are confident in our plan to not just create an impressive R&D project, but to deliver a valuable solution." The post also talks about integration with Boston Dynamics' robotic fleet management software and the ability to learn about a facility and navigate it.

The first partner customer will be Boston Dynamics' new-ish parent company, Hyundai. The post says, "Hyundai team is building the next generation of automotive manufacturing capabilities, and it will serve as a perfect testing ground for new Atlas applications." The post continues, "Similar to our Stretch rollout, we will be partnering with a small group of innovative customers, beginning with Hyundai, to test and iterate Atlas applications over the next few years. This is the first look at a real product, but it certainly isn’t the last."

The move to commercialization apparently won't mean any downgrades in terms of capabilities. Boston Dynamics promises the new Atlas is stronger than the old model, and, if it wasn't obvious already, a "broader range of motion." Besides lifting heavy objects, the company says it will explore "several new gripper variations to meet a diverse set of expected manipulation needs in customer environments." If Boston Dynamics lags behind in anything, it's its work on precision robotic hands. Those big meat hooks from the last Atlas video won't be doing fine manipulation any time soon. For now, it looks like the 25-pound inventory work from that last video is the robot's closest career path.

We should see more of what the new Atlas can do soon. One line of the official blog post says that "in the months and years ahead, we’re excited to show what the world’s most dynamic humanoid robot can really do—in the lab, in the factory, and in our lives."

Boston Dynamics was also careful to position an ominous hockey stick in the background of the video and all the promotional shots. It's all glamorous photo shoots now, but as is true for all Boston Dynamics robots that get hit with stuff and kicked and end up slamming into an obstacle course, this robot will be in for a rough life.