Boston Dynamics, the infamous US-based robotics firm, has its creations improving day by day. With each new video, the group shows off even more remarkable progress than the last, and the latest ones are no different.
That’s because their robots can now independently navigate pretty much anywhere.?
The first video showcases Atlas, the group’s humanoid robot, going for a jog outdoors. Despite the sloped terrain and grass cover, the bot has no problem getting around, even stopping at one point to jump over a log in its path. And while that isn’t the most elegant of movements compared to humans, you have to remember that this is a freaking robot leaping over an obstacle, making it a stellar product of engineering.
In the other video, the group’s dog-like SpotMini robot trots around the office by itself, even climbing up and down stairs without breaking a sweat (metaphorically of course). Boston Dynamics says that while an operator had to first steer the SpotMini through the course so it could map the area, it’s doing its own thing in this video, using its cameras to avoid obstacles.
What's perhaps most striking is that Boston Dynamics actually speeds up some of the video of the SpotMini navigating around the office until it gets to the stairs. Think about that, a dog robot walking around is so mundane now that they thought it was boring. That's true progress.