Boston Dynamics’ Atlas can run and cartwheel like a human now – and it’s stunning

If there’s ever an Olympics for robots, we might have found the American entry for breakdancing.

In a recent video, Boston Dynamics shows off what Atlas has been up to lately, and it’s probably one of the most impressive things I’ve seen from the company. The robot isn’t just picking things up and moving them around anymore; it’s showing off some eerily human moves.

Impressive human moves

The video starts by showing Atlas walking and then running. The walking was a little stiff, but the running was perfectly human-looking. Next, the robot “crawled,” in the company’s words, but it looked more like a series of mountain climber exercise movements. It was extremely fluid, but Atlas was just getting started.

Also: The clever Roborock robot vac with a mechanical arm is finally available for preorder

After showing a tuck-and-roll style move, Atlas shows off a front handspring before breakdancing (a quick search tells me it’s a move called a “coffee grinder” or “helicopter”) and then finishes with a cartwheel. The moves were impressively human, especially the cartwheel.

Athletic intelligence

Boston Dynamics says Atlas learned the new moves through reinforcement learning (learning by trial and error instead of simply following a command) with references from human motion capture and animation — a step up from the somewhat creepy moves it showed off about a year ago.

Also: Your robot vacuum needs love, too: 5 things I recommend for maintenance

At the core of Atlas is something the company calls “athletic intelligence,” or a connection between perception and control that allows the robot to adapt on the fly. Atlas sees its surroundings in real time through depth sensors, generates a view of its environment, and acts accordingly. An advanced control system provides power and balance, and the robot’s whole body moves with a dexterity and speed that’s strikingly human.

Boston Dynamics hasn’t said when Atlas might be ready for real-world release, but when it is, it’s good to know it’s ready for the dance floor.

Get the morning’s top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.