Boston Dynamics: Robotics giant Boston Dynamics has time and again posted videos of its brilliant robots carrying out various tasks, be it doing gymnastics or opening doors, or carrying out parkour, backflips and whatnot. The brilliant robots have showcased what dog-like and human-like robots can do with multi-part agility and proper guidance (software, of course). And now, Boston Dynamics has posted a video featuring its stunning robot line-up to wish the world a Happy New Year. The video features its human-like robot Atlas, dog-like robot Spot and mobile robot Handle dancing to the tunes of “Do You Love Me” by the Contours.
The video begins with a solo performance of Atlas, before it is joined by another Atlas and Spot. Handle has a relatively brief cameo in the “multi-starrer” robot video. The choreographed dance routine even features Spot “tip-toeing” like a ballerina.
Meanwhile, Atlas twirls, jumps, shuffles and runs smoothly, showcasing elegant dance moves expected from a trained human dancer. Back in 2016, Boston Dynamics had posted a video of Atlas dancing. But the jerky movements from then are now long gone, with the updated version of the robot gracefully dancing its way through the two-and-a-half minute video, which was even shared by tech mogul Elon Musk.
This is not CGI https://t.co/VOivE97vPR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2020
Boston Dynamics was formed in 1992 as a spin off from the premier Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It was then purchased by the X division of Alphabet in 2013, before going to Softbank in 2017. Now, earlier this month, the company was purchased by car giant Hyundai for $1.1 billion.
Spot, featured in this video, has been made available to the public for purchase, costing $74,500. On the other hand, humanoid Atlas and Handle shown in the video are still prototypes which are not yet open to the public.
