18 ms·

Atlas, the Next Generation [video]

509 points by bpierre 11y ago

jordanthoms 11y ago
Very awesome, each generation is just so much better. I wish they had shown it climbing those stairs though! :)
dluan 11y ago
Why do they always gotta smack around the robots like that :(
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  To show how quickly the robot can compensate to having its center of gravity shifted (balance). But man oh man, the robots are going to nice look kindly on us later.
  - pca184 11y ago
    haha yeah. There's something slightly terrifying at 2:18 when when the robot gets pushed down, stops, then 'jumps' back up. I was half expecting it to start attacking the guy
- lsiunsuex 11y ago
  Not gonna lie - kinda felt bad for it.
  - dluan 11y ago
    Someone on the internet said that humankind's biggest conflict will be between the two sides of those who believe in A.I. as life and those who don't. This is kind of getting us there.
    - krapp 11y ago
      There's little doubt in my mind this technology will be employed to exterminate villages full of "terrorists" by the US military in the future. You don't even need to invoke AI for that scenario, just VR and maybe whatever Google puts into their autonomous cars.
      - rl3 11y ago
        There's no need to exterminate anything. When you have robotic infantry deployed at theater scale, a largely non-lethal peacekeeping approach could be taken with relative ease. I'd argue robotic infantry would be a massive leap towards improving the security and humanitarian situations in some of the world's most terrible places. Unlike long-term deployment of human soldiers, political will wouldn't really factor in to robotic deployments. That would translate to less genocide and suffering in the world.
        j1vms 11y ago
        At one point at least, people surmised that atomic weapons would lead to greater success in peace-keeping throughout the world. Not so sure it's turning out that way.
        krapp 11y ago
        >Unlike long-term deployment of human soldiers, political will wouldn't really factor in to robotic deployments. Aren't all military deployments an expression of political will, though?
  - edvinbesic 11y ago
    I imagine videos like these being used in future trials to show humans torturing robots.
    - datalus 11y ago
      The Animatrix depicts a lot of robot vs human strife. Pretty good shorts :)
    - rl3 11y ago
      >I imagine videos like these being used in future trials to show humans torturing robots. The proceedings may resemble this: https://i.imgur.com/1m1OPlb.png https://i.imgur.com/1m1OPlb.png
- njharman 11y ago
  All I know is a great prank would be to program Atlas; after being pushed to jump around and start chasing that guy, yelling "Come here squishy human, I want to test your cranium for compressibility"
- shostack 11y ago
  After a few times where the guy with the hockey stick smacked down the box and moved it away, I half expected Atlas to look at the box, then look at the stick, and grab the stick and attack the guy with it.
  - noobermin 11y ago
    I was imagining something like that, although with the robot brandishing a laser gun. The robot would then saying, "die human." in a robotic sounding voice.
    - tim333 11y ago
      That will probably be in the next software version. One thing at a time.
NeutronBoy 11y ago
That is super impressive. The video of the robot walking around in the snow, and multiple times almost falling over but righting itself, exactly how a human would...
mrfusion 11y ago
Does anyone known if it's walking using zero moment point like asimo? I thought they were beyond that? It doesn't seem to have a very natural gait. Very uncanny valley. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_moment_point https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_moment_point
- ibnroberttuta 11y ago
  Short answer: No, ZMP is still the name of the game +-. [0] Slightly longer answer: No, they use derivative approaches that are basically ZMP but generally more refined/modernized, which is not to say ZMP/related are good or the 'future'. [1] Source: [0] I can try and find some non-paywall PDF's that go over the field, but basically everyone uses ZMP except for a few research groups in Korea or UMich and groups using their design/model. [1] I work in the industry.
  - mrfusion 11y ago
    This is awesome. Thanks! I kind of figured they'd apply the algorithms behind big dog et al to bipedal. But I guess bipedal is completely different. What do you think it would take for robots to walk in a similar way to humans?
    - ibnroberttuta 11y ago
      Great question. Disclaimer: I don't work with these types of bipeds. I work on powered exoskeletons for paralyzed type people. I would google that phrase to get an idea, but what you'll find is not close to what i'm working on (Read: Wink wink). That being said, the fields overlap very heavily, probably too heavily given the necessary differences, so I do have a fairly rigorous (rusty, at this point) understanding of the topic. You are right in a way; big dog et al (depending on specific bot/type) share alot of software features with biped robots, but not the type that deal with gait control. The difference is found primarily in gait-control/kinematics, as determined by the necessarily complex nature behind bipedal mechanics. The future of robotics sort of already exists amongst us, at the very least in the public research domain. The fundamental issue with biped robots right now, as i see it, is: 1) Biped robots are almost universally 'human' inspired 2) Humans are theoretically fully optimized bipeds, copying them is logical and probably an unbeatable 'design' 3) Designers try to copy the human form, but either focus too heavily on ZMP influence or too much on a 'Terminator' level robustness (Heavy, rigid, and impossible). 4) The robot is produced, and because ZMP is very predictable/safe, it walks; but it is not 'human' form or very good at achieving it's design goals because its goals were modeled after the ideal biped, and this is a very bad imitation. 5) Designers say: Hey, spec sheet checks out, FEA says this is strong, problem must be bad software [ZMP]. Software guys say: This software [ZMP] can be improved. The designers are right, the software guys are right, but ZMP is wrong, and because of that, design is bad, etc... So to really get a true, true biped robot, you really, really need A) Control theory that isn't backwards [literally] and B) A really, really 'human-like' (musculoskeletal) design. A and B are both really difficult because both are massively challenging, and they have to work together perfectly. So you need a solution that is really creative, really beautiful and elegant and lightweight, and probably most difficult, you need to have people that know how to turn that kind of framework from theory to iterative simulation to real world etc etc. ZMP is the only real game rn because it was first and etc [sunken cost fallacy and myopia, i think]. All other approaches are neglected fully, regretably (not many other approaches either). Jumping back to how I see it, I think bipeds will only improve superficially till ZMP is killed or hybridized effectively, which doesn't mean A and B has to occur. Their are just too many fundamental limitations to the theory for bipeds using it to become ubiquitous, or even used beyond research/darpa-fairs. I also think that my research/focus is more complex than robotic bipeds, and it'd be really worthless waste of my time if it was at the current or slightly above 'state-of-the-art', but this is absolutely the best way I can spend my life right now. This whole industry [true 'wearables' and robotica] is like a giant powderkeg, and it's going to blow up way bigger and sooner than any thought possible [imo, so take with a grain of salt, but facts afford a potentially representative state of things to be]. I've also just realized i've forgotten to explain zmp/gait and many other things, but i feel that the write up stands on its own.
macarthy12 11y ago
What percentage of the body weight is batteries? HOw long can it operate ?
irrlichthn 11y ago
Watching that, especially that part starting at 1:23 makes you realize quickly that in about 10 years, 95% of all jobs can be replaced by machines. Scary and interesting at the same time.
- edvinbesic 11y ago
  Does that mean we live in a happy utopia where 95% of the tedious/dangerous work has been taken care of and we instead get to spend our time focusing on what we find inspirational/creative, or do we live in a dystopia where 95% of job opportunities have vanished and we can no longer sustain a consumption based economy. Maybe those are one and the same.
  - bobajeff 11y ago
    There's a TV show (haven't watched it yet) about a future where society is split between something like 15% employed and 85% unemployed. The unemployed live in this desert wasteland or whatever while the employed are living in a big o'l building structure. I would say it's far fetched and unlikely except that's kind of how the world is today.
    - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
      Zardoz!
  - dillon 11y ago
    To extend your point. The jobs that are easily programmable like farming, and warehousing are easily replaceable. Some tasks may even require using humans and robots together like construction or search and rescue. Some things are indeed not replaceable by robots and I think "most" professions* may not be able to be replaced by robots. These could be things like professional chefs (not fast food), programmers, and masseuse. *By professions I mean the raw number of unique jobs not the number of people who work in those positions. That being said in the U.S. with the "College Driven" economy I doubt it will ever affect 95% of the population at once. Generally professions will disappear one by one, but those people can retrain and if they don't it won't matter as the next generation will obviously not train to fill positions that don't exist (that's not logical). Eventually the new generations train to fill different job positions.
karmicthreat 11y ago
It has a great kinematic system. But with all those QR codes scattered around it obviously has little knowledge of its environment. I think this understanding and planning is going to be the big hurdle for Atlas style robots rather than just walking around. Just look at the number of types of door out there and what it would take for a robot to figure out how to navigate it without having encountered the exact door before. Its going to need to figure out that it is a door. Experiment to find the unlatching mechanism. Figure out if the door swings or slides and in what direction. Then open it without hitting its self and finally make its way through. Then exporting the training data so other robots can learn it as well.
- elsewhen 11y ago
  It seems that this demonstration was for a factory robot, so dealing with all types of doors is not required. Operating in a factory is much easier than being able to adapt to various settings.
- tommoor 11y ago
  I'm sure they're working on getting that integrated with Google Cloud Vision api to recognise objects without the qr codes :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eve8DkkVdhI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eve8DkkVdhI
- stevenhuang 11y ago
  For anyone interested, the qr code system is AprilTags: https://april.eecs.umich.edu/wiki/index.php/AprilTags https://april.eecs.umich.edu/wiki/index.php/AprilTags Works like QR codes but is optimized for CV tasks and works well on embedded systems.
- onion2k 11y ago
  I'm a 38 year old human and I occasionally try to push a door that should be pulled. Getting a door wrong the first time isn't holding me back that much. The same goes for a robot. The main difference is the the robot can go through the door without opening it if it really wants to.
- trdrake 11y ago
otoburb 11y ago
I half expected the video camera to turn around and show the audience that all of the footage was shot by an Atlas model. Maybe that could be a stretch goal for the next generation after Atlas.
- optimusclimb 11y ago
  Do you work on Wall Street? When I watched this video, I definitely wasn't thinking about stretch goals and what they DIDN'T yet manage to do :P
danbmil99 11y ago
Note the quiet compared to Big Dog... you can hear birds sing in the background. That's a big deal. Their 4-legged pack mule for DoD was killed partly due to noise. Enjoy the silence..?
- digi_owl 11y ago
  as best i recall, big dog was meant to be a long distance, possibly autonomous, pack mule for places and missions where a manned vehicle was not an option. i suspect that this robot have a operating time of maybe an hour before the battery pack needs to be swapped.
shostack 11y ago
Am I the only one that saw this and got excited thinking it was a video of FB's new ad platform?
alinspired 11y ago
it can use a shiny Bender skin :) hope some Futurama fans are working there
- angersock 11y ago
  The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy.
chetangole 11y ago
that's terrifying!
eatfish 11y ago
When the robots become self aware that guy from 1:25 has it coming.
- colordrops 11y ago
  I know this is (maybe?) a joke, but I've been seeing similar jokes everywhere. Self-aware AIs in the future will probably be much more rational that humans, utilizing game theory for every decision, and recognize that taking out vengeance on a human that had no ill intent on a non-self aware prototype would be a waste of energy and only bring about negative consequences. I'm replying in seriousness because I too could imagine a world where this video was marked as a historical artifact by AGIs and recognized for its content.
  - kolinko 11y ago
    Did you read "strategy of conflict"? It explains why irrational behaviour is the most optimal strategy sometimes.
    - colordrops 11y ago
      I haven't read it, but from a quick glimpse on Amazon, it looks to be a book on game theory. Wouldn't a theory on strategy imply rational decision making? Could you expound on what you are referring to?
      - azernik 11y ago
        It is a viable strategy in many games to act so irrationally that other parties will go out of their way to accommodate you in a way that they would not otherwise. A classic example is a game of chicken (at least, where something is on the line). Sure, it's irrational to run into the other person; but it's totally advantageous to convince the other party that you're willing to do so. At a certain point there's not much difference between a determined effort to look crazy and actual crazy behavior. It gets even more interesting when the strategy is designed by a different actor or process than carries it out. For example, the people running a society might believe it to be advantageous for their group to look so defensive and prickly that no one will touch them; but in order to do so, they have to create a society that actually is quite irrational. Or, natural processes of evolution might favor organisms (well, genes that create organisms) that are actually quite irrational in their behavior, because that irrationality will change the behavior of other organisms.
Nican 11y ago
If people are interested in looking at more cool content on the subject, I recommend you looking at: - http://drc.mit.edu/technology/ http://drc.mit.edu/technology/ - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~cga/drc/ http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~cga/drc/ - https://github.com/RobotLocomotion/drake/wiki https://github.com/RobotLocomotion/drake/wiki - http://robots.ihmc.us/humanoid-control-workshop/videos http://robots.ihmc.us/humanoid-control-workshop/videos I attended WPI during 2013-2014, and worked with Atlas. I am very excited and impressed by Boston Dynamics. (And hopefully start working on the field again.)
stephengillie 11y ago
For those not wanting to watch a video, Atlas appears to be a humanoid robot: http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/23/boston-dynamics-presents-the-next-generation-atlas-robot/ http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/23/boston-dynamics-presents-...
kriro 11y ago
Pretty impressive. Seems like a non-stiff torso could help a bit. I'm sure they are investigating that option/have tried it. Hockey stick guy genuinely made me laugh. They should call this the hockey stick test (once again very impressive). Not sure what impresses me more overall the walking on non trivial terrain in the beginning or the adaption to the "hockey attack". The video certainly makes me want to work in robotics. Haas Bioroid is here ;)
diskcat 11y ago
It doesn't have the grace of an actual human. Its solution to any problem seems to be more stomping.
nikolay 11y ago
Although a great incremental update, is the new Atlas any better than Asimo?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
Scottli 11y ago
and then they will put a weapon on it
Scottli 11y ago
and then they will put a weapon on it
visarga 11y ago
They don't seem to be using end-to-end deep reinforcement learning. I think the robot movements will become smooth and organic once they replace the current specialized approach with more general algorithms. Robotics is a core application of reinforcement learning as it deals with an embedded agent in a feedback look with the exterior. That's why DeepBrain chose games to test their algorithm, because in a game the player is embedded in an artificial world which is much easier to use in the trial and error learning phase. Logically, after mastering Atari games, at some point they should focus on robots that function in the real world. It helps that Deep Brain and Boston Dynamics are owned by the same company.
HeyShayBY 11y ago
Anyone read "The Industries of the Future" by Alec Ross? He talks about the technologies of the future, the technologies who will become an integral part of our lives in the next 20 years. The first episode in the book is about robotics. I really urge everyone to read that book. This Boston Dynamics video gives me serious Terminator vibes. In reality, from an Economics stand point, I'm really curious and afraid to discover how will this affect the lives of millions and millions of workers world-wide who will lose their jobs to Robot. How can they stand at the right side of a technology revolution they know nothing about? What do you think?
- exodust 11y ago
  Bring it on. Same thing happened with industrial revolution didn't it? Trouble, followed by adjustment. Leave the nasty jobs to robots. New industries will pop up. Technology keeps growing. There will be protests. Robots will be harmed. Science fiction has told us most of what is coming.
- sstiernborg 11y ago
  A related article about Dr Moshe Vardi and his controversial view that governments and societies around the world may have to consider a "basic income guarantee" http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/basic-income-artificial-intelligence-ai-robots-automation-moshe-vardi-a6884086.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/new...
redcodenl 11y ago
Watching the video, the only thing I see is robot abuse. #freeatlas! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_P-zl8QKp0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_P-zl8QKp0
- sunseb 11y ago
  Yes, that's kind of weird this empathy we feel toward these robots. It's just a machine, yet it's so... human.
  - jules 11y ago
    A human is a machine.
    - sunseb 11y ago
      Yes, a human is a machine too, still I think we are more than our physical body.
      - jules 11y ago
        Based on what? We evolved from chemicals to single celled organisms, to multi celled, to worms, to fish, to mammals, to apes, etcetera. At which point in this process did we become more than our physical body? I don't see any reason why an organism that came to be through evolution is fundamentally different than a machine that we build. In both cases it's the laws of nature at work within the universe. I think rather than concluding that we must be more than physical, a more reasonable conclusion is that there's something that we don't yet understand about the physical world, i.e. how matter in the physical world can give rise to subjective experience.
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
        exodust 11y ago
        > "...can give rise to subjective experience" Sounds to me like you're saying the physical machine gives rise to something else beyond the machine. In which case, why waste energy insisting we're only machine?
Happpy 11y ago
Poor robot, #abusedinboston
wgx 11y ago
I found it interesting how lots of the top comments on YouTube (ie: a wider generalist audience) were concerned about robot abuse and the robot uprising. We may scoff, but it's a real concern of lay people.
- slfnflctd 11y ago
  I noticed exactly the same thing happening on reddit.
- exodust 11y ago
  Isn't it just everyone trying to be funny with the same joke they believe will be original, but actually is every second comment? Happens a lot on Youtube. Surprised it's happening here too. But if there really is a genuine wave of care about the robot welfare sweeping the intertubes, then perhaps we need some ethics drawn up for when the robots have feelings. BTW, apparently fish do have feelings after all: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1819/20152266 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1819/2015...
  - Strom 11y ago
    I think it's even simpler than that. They don't even expect it to be an original joke. This is just the skynet meme. Memes like this get repeated ad infinitum in comment sections like youtube's. People recognize some pattern (e.g. robot abuse), pull out the most appropriate meme from their meme basket, see it also being pulled out by others, and have a sense of belonging & social reinforcement.
    - exodust 11y ago
      That's a kinder assessment. I'm not so sure though. I think many people don't read others' comments and cruise in, watch video, and bust out their joke, not noticing it already exists in various forms in previous comments. Unlike offering a general opinion, viewpoint or judgement, we prefer our one-liner jokes to be unique.
sunseb 11y ago
It's not the Terminator T-800 yet, still it's impressing. :-)))
citizensixteen 11y ago
Player Piano, the first novel of Kurt Vonnegut, was published in 1952. It depicts a dystopia of automation, describing the deterioration it can cause to quality of life. The story takes place in a near-future society that is almost totally mechanized, eliminating the need for human laborers. This widespread mechanization creates conflict between the wealthy upper class—the engineers and managers who keep society running—and the lower class, whose skills and purpose in society have been replaced by machines. The book uses irony and sentimentality, which were to become hallmarks developed further in Vonnegut's later works. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_Piano_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_Piano_(novel)
wfunction 11y ago
Can someone explain what would be the single greatest challenge (from a research perspective) in making such a robot today? For example, is it: 1. The sensors? 2. The actuators? 3. Coming up with accurate dynamical models? 4. Solving the models accurately? 5. Solving the models efficiently? 6. Making the models robust to inaccuracy/noise? Yes, I realize all of these are probably hard. What I'm trying to understand is whether the biggest challenge is coming up with e.g. an accurate (possibly nonlinear) dynamical model, or with solving the model (efficiency/accuracy), or with making existing models that are otherwise already completely accurate robust to outside noise, or with the manufacturing aspect (precision), or whatever.
- noir_lord 11y ago
  Power. All the other technologies are increasing extremely rapidly but battery technology isn't. We are at a point where a breakthrough in batteries would have an incredible effect across a huge number of fields.
  - kayoone 11y ago
    Everything is getting more power efficient though, so you will at least get more computing power for the same amount of Watts.
    - SideburnsOfDoom 11y ago
      Not everything. The energy required by physics for lifting boxes or driving a car up a hill is pretty much fixed. Better batteries would help with both of those.
      - noir_lord 11y ago
        Electric jets as well. The energy to raise a fixed mass a certain height isn't going to change. Not to mention an electric car with a thousand mile range would be huge.
dogma1138 11y ago
On thing you can already bet on is that in 20 years that guy is going to wake up in the middle of the night to find a T1000 with a hockey stick in it's hands and a grin on it's facial expression monitor pointing at a box and say "would you kindly; pick it up?". Later his tomb stone will say "Don't be a dick to robots".
unixhero 11y ago
As a futurologist I don't like this one bit. Seriously, I feel like this company will destroy us all.
bliti 11y ago
Impressive. They seem to have reduced how much noise it makes during normal operation. Does anybody know how long will the battery last on the current version?
julbaxter 11y ago
Does someone know if they are using ROS?
GolDDranks 11y ago
#robotsarepeopletoo #botrights
geerlingguy 11y ago
Does anyone else start to think of Blinky[1] when the guy starts pushing around the robot? [1] http://youtu.be/P0lKDy6E918 http://youtu.be/P0lKDy6E918
mangeletti 11y ago
As I've watched these videos over the years, it's been impossible, especially now, for me to not see how these and other such robots will replace and eventually extinct all humans. In theory, a family of 4 humans could run a global economy run by robots and no humans. That's a sort of ridiculous, maximal state, but what makes any of us think that, given a continuum from the current state to that maximal state, we won't be somewhere closer to that state in 30 years, especially when considering the unreasonably effectiveness of rent seeking on technology-driven monopolies (e.g., Amazon)?
atonse 11y ago
What's crazy to me is that there's something "organic" enough about the way these machines are behaving, that I actually feel bad for the robot when the guy knocks over the boxes. I think I wouldn't feel that bad if this were a self-driving forklift. And it's not even an uncanny valley thing, or maybe it is?
amai 11y ago
Atlas is not alone: http://www.theroboticschallenge.org/teams http://www.theroboticschallenge.org/teams
matzipan 11y ago
I empathized when the robot faceplanted...
jbdigriz 11y ago
It's funny how this video is what everyone in IT thinks work will be like before they get their first job. Meanwhile, this is what work is actually like at every IT job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIIWX80KBUE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIIWX80KBUE

509 points by bpierre 11y ago

jordanthoms 11y ago

Very awesome, each generation is just so much better. I wish they had shown it climbing those stairs though! :)

dluan 11y ago

Why do they always gotta smack around the robots like that :(

toomuchtodo 11y ago
To show how quickly the robot can compensate to having its center of gravity shifted (balance). But man oh man, the robots are going to nice look kindly on us later.
- pca184 11y ago
  haha yeah. There's something slightly terrifying at 2:18 when when the robot gets pushed down, stops, then 'jumps' back up. I was half expecting it to start attacking the guy
lsiunsuex 11y ago
Not gonna lie - kinda felt bad for it.
- dluan 11y ago
  Someone on the internet said that humankind's biggest conflict will be between the two sides of those who believe in A.I. as life and those who don't. This is kind of getting us there.
  - krapp 11y ago
    There's little doubt in my mind this technology will be employed to exterminate villages full of "terrorists" by the US military in the future. You don't even need to invoke AI for that scenario, just VR and maybe whatever Google puts into their autonomous cars.
    - rl3 11y ago
      There's no need to exterminate anything. When you have robotic infantry deployed at theater scale, a largely non-lethal peacekeeping approach could be taken with relative ease. I'd argue robotic infantry would be a massive leap towards improving the security and humanitarian situations in some of the world's most terrible places. Unlike long-term deployment of human soldiers, political will wouldn't really factor in to robotic deployments. That would translate to less genocide and suffering in the world.
      - j1vms 11y ago
        At one point at least, people surmised that atomic weapons would lead to greater success in peace-keeping throughout the world. Not so sure it's turning out that way.
      - krapp 11y ago
        >Unlike long-term deployment of human soldiers, political will wouldn't really factor in to robotic deployments. Aren't all military deployments an expression of political will, though?
- edvinbesic 11y ago
  I imagine videos like these being used in future trials to show humans torturing robots.
  - datalus 11y ago
    The Animatrix depicts a lot of robot vs human strife. Pretty good shorts :)
  - rl3 11y ago
    >I imagine videos like these being used in future trials to show humans torturing robots. The proceedings may resemble this: https://i.imgur.com/1m1OPlb.png https://i.imgur.com/1m1OPlb.png
njharman 11y ago
All I know is a great prank would be to program Atlas; after being pushed to jump around and start chasing that guy, yelling "Come here squishy human, I want to test your cranium for compressibility"
shostack 11y ago
After a few times where the guy with the hockey stick smacked down the box and moved it away, I half expected Atlas to look at the box, then look at the stick, and grab the stick and attack the guy with it.
- noobermin 11y ago
  I was imagining something like that, although with the robot brandishing a laser gun. The robot would then saying, "die human." in a robotic sounding voice.
  - tim333 11y ago
    That will probably be in the next software version. One thing at a time.

NeutronBoy 11y ago

That is super impressive. The video of the robot walking around in the snow, and multiple times almost falling over but righting itself, exactly how a human would...

mrfusion 11y ago

Does anyone known if it's walking using zero moment point like asimo? I thought they were beyond that? It doesn't seem to have a very natural gait. Very uncanny valley. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_moment_point https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_moment_point

ibnroberttuta 11y ago
Short answer: No, ZMP is still the name of the game +-. [0] Slightly longer answer: No, they use derivative approaches that are basically ZMP but generally more refined/modernized, which is not to say ZMP/related are good or the 'future'. [1] Source: [0] I can try and find some non-paywall PDF's that go over the field, but basically everyone uses ZMP except for a few research groups in Korea or UMich and groups using their design/model. [1] I work in the industry.
- mrfusion 11y ago
  This is awesome. Thanks! I kind of figured they'd apply the algorithms behind big dog et al to bipedal. But I guess bipedal is completely different. What do you think it would take for robots to walk in a similar way to humans?
  - ibnroberttuta 11y ago
    Great question. Disclaimer: I don't work with these types of bipeds. I work on powered exoskeletons for paralyzed type people. I would google that phrase to get an idea, but what you'll find is not close to what i'm working on (Read: Wink wink). That being said, the fields overlap very heavily, probably too heavily given the necessary differences, so I do have a fairly rigorous (rusty, at this point) understanding of the topic. You are right in a way; big dog et al (depending on specific bot/type) share alot of software features with biped robots, but not the type that deal with gait control. The difference is found primarily in gait-control/kinematics, as determined by the necessarily complex nature behind bipedal mechanics. The future of robotics sort of already exists amongst us, at the very least in the public research domain. The fundamental issue with biped robots right now, as i see it, is: 1) Biped robots are almost universally 'human' inspired 2) Humans are theoretically fully optimized bipeds, copying them is logical and probably an unbeatable 'design' 3) Designers try to copy the human form, but either focus too heavily on ZMP influence or too much on a 'Terminator' level robustness (Heavy, rigid, and impossible). 4) The robot is produced, and because ZMP is very predictable/safe, it walks; but it is not 'human' form or very good at achieving it's design goals because its goals were modeled after the ideal biped, and this is a very bad imitation. 5) Designers say: Hey, spec sheet checks out, FEA says this is strong, problem must be bad software [ZMP]. Software guys say: This software [ZMP] can be improved. The designers are right, the software guys are right, but ZMP is wrong, and because of that, design is bad, etc... So to really get a true, true biped robot, you really, really need A) Control theory that isn't backwards [literally] and B) A really, really 'human-like' (musculoskeletal) design. A and B are both really difficult because both are massively challenging, and they have to work together perfectly. So you need a solution that is really creative, really beautiful and elegant and lightweight, and probably most difficult, you need to have people that know how to turn that kind of framework from theory to iterative simulation to real world etc etc. ZMP is the only real game rn because it was first and etc [sunken cost fallacy and myopia, i think]. All other approaches are neglected fully, regretably (not many other approaches either). Jumping back to how I see it, I think bipeds will only improve superficially till ZMP is killed or hybridized effectively, which doesn't mean A and B has to occur. Their are just too many fundamental limitations to the theory for bipeds using it to become ubiquitous, or even used beyond research/darpa-fairs. I also think that my research/focus is more complex than robotic bipeds, and it'd be really worthless waste of my time if it was at the current or slightly above 'state-of-the-art', but this is absolutely the best way I can spend my life right now. This whole industry [true 'wearables' and robotica] is like a giant powderkeg, and it's going to blow up way bigger and sooner than any thought possible [imo, so take with a grain of salt, but facts afford a potentially representative state of things to be]. I've also just realized i've forgotten to explain zmp/gait and many other things, but i feel that the write up stands on its own.

macarthy12 11y ago

What percentage of the body weight is batteries? HOw long can it operate ?

irrlichthn 11y ago

Watching that, especially that part starting at 1:23 makes you realize quickly that in about 10 years, 95% of all jobs can be replaced by machines. Scary and interesting at the same time.

edvinbesic 11y ago
Does that mean we live in a happy utopia where 95% of the tedious/dangerous work has been taken care of and we instead get to spend our time focusing on what we find inspirational/creative, or do we live in a dystopia where 95% of job opportunities have vanished and we can no longer sustain a consumption based economy. Maybe those are one and the same.
- bobajeff 11y ago
  There's a TV show (haven't watched it yet) about a future where society is split between something like 15% employed and 85% unemployed. The unemployed live in this desert wasteland or whatever while the employed are living in a big o'l building structure. I would say it's far fetched and unlikely except that's kind of how the world is today.
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    Zardoz!
- dillon 11y ago
  To extend your point. The jobs that are easily programmable like farming, and warehousing are easily replaceable. Some tasks may even require using humans and robots together like construction or search and rescue. Some things are indeed not replaceable by robots and I think "most" professions* may not be able to be replaced by robots. These could be things like professional chefs (not fast food), programmers, and masseuse. *By professions I mean the raw number of unique jobs not the number of people who work in those positions. That being said in the U.S. with the "College Driven" economy I doubt it will ever affect 95% of the population at once. Generally professions will disappear one by one, but those people can retrain and if they don't it won't matter as the next generation will obviously not train to fill positions that don't exist (that's not logical). Eventually the new generations train to fill different job positions.

karmicthreat 11y ago

It has a great kinematic system. But with all those QR codes scattered around it obviously has little knowledge of its environment. I think this understanding and planning is going to be the big hurdle for Atlas style robots rather than just walking around. Just look at the number of types of door out there and what it would take for a robot to figure out how to navigate it without having encountered the exact door before. Its going to need to figure out that it is a door. Experiment to find the unlatching mechanism. Figure out if the door swings or slides and in what direction. Then open it without hitting its self and finally make its way through. Then exporting the training data so other robots can learn it as well.

elsewhen 11y ago
It seems that this demonstration was for a factory robot, so dealing with all types of doors is not required. Operating in a factory is much easier than being able to adapt to various settings.
tommoor 11y ago
I'm sure they're working on getting that integrated with Google Cloud Vision api to recognise objects without the qr codes :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eve8DkkVdhI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eve8DkkVdhI
stevenhuang 11y ago
For anyone interested, the qr code system is AprilTags: https://april.eecs.umich.edu/wiki/index.php/AprilTags https://april.eecs.umich.edu/wiki/index.php/AprilTags Works like QR codes but is optimized for CV tasks and works well on embedded systems.
onion2k 11y ago
I'm a 38 year old human and I occasionally try to push a door that should be pulled. Getting a door wrong the first time isn't holding me back that much. The same goes for a robot. The main difference is the the robot can go through the door without opening it if it really wants to.
trdrake 11y ago

otoburb 11y ago

I half expected the video camera to turn around and show the audience that all of the footage was shot by an Atlas model. Maybe that could be a stretch goal for the next generation after Atlas.

optimusclimb 11y ago
Do you work on Wall Street? When I watched this video, I definitely wasn't thinking about stretch goals and what they DIDN'T yet manage to do :P

danbmil99 11y ago

Note the quiet compared to Big Dog... you can hear birds sing in the background. That's a big deal. Their 4-legged pack mule for DoD was killed partly due to noise. Enjoy the silence..?

digi_owl 11y ago
as best i recall, big dog was meant to be a long distance, possibly autonomous, pack mule for places and missions where a manned vehicle was not an option. i suspect that this robot have a operating time of maybe an hour before the battery pack needs to be swapped.

shostack 11y ago

Am I the only one that saw this and got excited thinking it was a video of FB's new ad platform?

alinspired 11y ago

it can use a shiny Bender skin :) hope some Futurama fans are working there

angersock 11y ago
The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy.

chetangole 11y ago

that's terrifying!

eatfish 11y ago

When the robots become self aware that guy from 1:25 has it coming.

colordrops 11y ago
I know this is (maybe?) a joke, but I've been seeing similar jokes everywhere. Self-aware AIs in the future will probably be much more rational that humans, utilizing game theory for every decision, and recognize that taking out vengeance on a human that had no ill intent on a non-self aware prototype would be a waste of energy and only bring about negative consequences. I'm replying in seriousness because I too could imagine a world where this video was marked as a historical artifact by AGIs and recognized for its content.
- kolinko 11y ago
  Did you read "strategy of conflict"? It explains why irrational behaviour is the most optimal strategy sometimes.
  - colordrops 11y ago
    I haven't read it, but from a quick glimpse on Amazon, it looks to be a book on game theory. Wouldn't a theory on strategy imply rational decision making? Could you expound on what you are referring to?
    - azernik 11y ago
      It is a viable strategy in many games to act so irrationally that other parties will go out of their way to accommodate you in a way that they would not otherwise. A classic example is a game of chicken (at least, where something is on the line). Sure, it's irrational to run into the other person; but it's totally advantageous to convince the other party that you're willing to do so. At a certain point there's not much difference between a determined effort to look crazy and actual crazy behavior. It gets even more interesting when the strategy is designed by a different actor or process than carries it out. For example, the people running a society might believe it to be advantageous for their group to look so defensive and prickly that no one will touch them; but in order to do so, they have to create a society that actually is quite irrational. Or, natural processes of evolution might favor organisms (well, genes that create organisms) that are actually quite irrational in their behavior, because that irrationality will change the behavior of other organisms.

Nican 11y ago

If people are interested in looking at more cool content on the subject, I recommend you looking at: - http://drc.mit.edu/technology/ http://drc.mit.edu/technology/ - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~cga/drc/ http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~cga/drc/ - https://github.com/RobotLocomotion/drake/wiki https://github.com/RobotLocomotion/drake/wiki - http://robots.ihmc.us/humanoid-control-workshop/videos http://robots.ihmc.us/humanoid-control-workshop/videos I attended WPI during 2013-2014, and worked with Atlas. I am very excited and impressed by Boston Dynamics. (And hopefully start working on the field again.)

stephengillie 11y ago

For those not wanting to watch a video, Atlas appears to be a humanoid robot: http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/23/boston-dynamics-presents-the-next-generation-atlas-robot/ http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/23/boston-dynamics-presents-...

kriro 11y ago

Pretty impressive. Seems like a non-stiff torso could help a bit. I'm sure they are investigating that option/have tried it. Hockey stick guy genuinely made me laugh. They should call this the hockey stick test (once again very impressive). Not sure what impresses me more overall the walking on non trivial terrain in the beginning or the adaption to the "hockey attack". The video certainly makes me want to work in robotics. Haas Bioroid is here ;)

diskcat 11y ago

It doesn't have the grace of an actual human. Its solution to any problem seems to be more stomping.

nikolay 11y ago

Although a great incremental update, is the new Atlas any better than Asimo?

deleted 11y ago
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Scottli 11y ago

and then they will put a weapon on it

Scottli 11y ago

and then they will put a weapon on it

visarga 11y ago

They don't seem to be using end-to-end deep reinforcement learning. I think the robot movements will become smooth and organic once they replace the current specialized approach with more general algorithms. Robotics is a core application of reinforcement learning as it deals with an embedded agent in a feedback look with the exterior. That's why DeepBrain chose games to test their algorithm, because in a game the player is embedded in an artificial world which is much easier to use in the trial and error learning phase. Logically, after mastering Atari games, at some point they should focus on robots that function in the real world. It helps that Deep Brain and Boston Dynamics are owned by the same company.

HeyShayBY 11y ago

Anyone read "The Industries of the Future" by Alec Ross? He talks about the technologies of the future, the technologies who will become an integral part of our lives in the next 20 years. The first episode in the book is about robotics. I really urge everyone to read that book. This Boston Dynamics video gives me serious Terminator vibes. In reality, from an Economics stand point, I'm really curious and afraid to discover how will this affect the lives of millions and millions of workers world-wide who will lose their jobs to Robot. How can they stand at the right side of a technology revolution they know nothing about? What do you think?

exodust 11y ago
Bring it on. Same thing happened with industrial revolution didn't it? Trouble, followed by adjustment. Leave the nasty jobs to robots. New industries will pop up. Technology keeps growing. There will be protests. Robots will be harmed. Science fiction has told us most of what is coming.
sstiernborg 11y ago
A related article about Dr Moshe Vardi and his controversial view that governments and societies around the world may have to consider a "basic income guarantee" http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/basic-income-artificial-intelligence-ai-robots-automation-moshe-vardi-a6884086.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/new...

redcodenl 11y ago

Watching the video, the only thing I see is robot abuse. #freeatlas! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_P-zl8QKp0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_P-zl8QKp0

sunseb 11y ago
Yes, that's kind of weird this empathy we feel toward these robots. It's just a machine, yet it's so... human.
- jules 11y ago
  A human is a machine.
  - sunseb 11y ago
    Yes, a human is a machine too, still I think we are more than our physical body.
    - jules 11y ago
      Based on what? We evolved from chemicals to single celled organisms, to multi celled, to worms, to fish, to mammals, to apes, etcetera. At which point in this process did we become more than our physical body? I don't see any reason why an organism that came to be through evolution is fundamentally different than a machine that we build. In both cases it's the laws of nature at work within the universe. I think rather than concluding that we must be more than physical, a more reasonable conclusion is that there's something that we don't yet understand about the physical world, i.e. how matter in the physical world can give rise to subjective experience.
      - deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
      - exodust 11y ago
        > "...can give rise to subjective experience" Sounds to me like you're saying the physical machine gives rise to something else beyond the machine. In which case, why waste energy insisting we're only machine?

Happpy 11y ago

Poor robot, #abusedinboston

wgx 11y ago

I found it interesting how lots of the top comments on YouTube (ie: a wider generalist audience) were concerned about robot abuse and the robot uprising. We may scoff, but it's a real concern of lay people.

slfnflctd 11y ago
I noticed exactly the same thing happening on reddit.
exodust 11y ago
Isn't it just everyone trying to be funny with the same joke they believe will be original, but actually is every second comment? Happens a lot on Youtube. Surprised it's happening here too. But if there really is a genuine wave of care about the robot welfare sweeping the intertubes, then perhaps we need some ethics drawn up for when the robots have feelings. BTW, apparently fish do have feelings after all: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1819/20152266 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1819/2015...
- Strom 11y ago
  I think it's even simpler than that. They don't even expect it to be an original joke. This is just the skynet meme. Memes like this get repeated ad infinitum in comment sections like youtube's. People recognize some pattern (e.g. robot abuse), pull out the most appropriate meme from their meme basket, see it also being pulled out by others, and have a sense of belonging & social reinforcement.
  - exodust 11y ago
    That's a kinder assessment. I'm not so sure though. I think many people don't read others' comments and cruise in, watch video, and bust out their joke, not noticing it already exists in various forms in previous comments. Unlike offering a general opinion, viewpoint or judgement, we prefer our one-liner jokes to be unique.

sunseb 11y ago

It's not the Terminator T-800 yet, still it's impressing. :-)))

citizensixteen 11y ago

Player Piano, the first novel of Kurt Vonnegut, was published in 1952. It depicts a dystopia of automation, describing the deterioration it can cause to quality of life. The story takes place in a near-future society that is almost totally mechanized, eliminating the need for human laborers. This widespread mechanization creates conflict between the wealthy upper class—the engineers and managers who keep society running—and the lower class, whose skills and purpose in society have been replaced by machines. The book uses irony and sentimentality, which were to become hallmarks developed further in Vonnegut's later works. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_Piano_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_Piano_(novel)

wfunction 11y ago

Can someone explain what would be the single greatest challenge (from a research perspective) in making such a robot today? For example, is it: 1. The sensors? 2. The actuators? 3. Coming up with accurate dynamical models? 4. Solving the models accurately? 5. Solving the models efficiently? 6. Making the models robust to inaccuracy/noise? Yes, I realize all of these are probably hard. What I'm trying to understand is whether the biggest challenge is coming up with e.g. an accurate (possibly nonlinear) dynamical model, or with solving the model (efficiency/accuracy), or with making existing models that are otherwise already completely accurate robust to outside noise, or with the manufacturing aspect (precision), or whatever.

noir_lord 11y ago
Power. All the other technologies are increasing extremely rapidly but battery technology isn't. We are at a point where a breakthrough in batteries would have an incredible effect across a huge number of fields.
- kayoone 11y ago
  Everything is getting more power efficient though, so you will at least get more computing power for the same amount of Watts.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 11y ago
    Not everything. The energy required by physics for lifting boxes or driving a car up a hill is pretty much fixed. Better batteries would help with both of those.
    - noir_lord 11y ago
      Electric jets as well. The energy to raise a fixed mass a certain height isn't going to change. Not to mention an electric car with a thousand mile range would be huge.

dogma1138 11y ago

On thing you can already bet on is that in 20 years that guy is going to wake up in the middle of the night to find a T1000 with a hockey stick in it's hands and a grin on it's facial expression monitor pointing at a box and say "would you kindly; pick it up?". Later his tomb stone will say "Don't be a dick to robots".

unixhero 11y ago

As a futurologist I don't like this one bit. Seriously, I feel like this company will destroy us all.

bliti 11y ago

Impressive. They seem to have reduced how much noise it makes during normal operation. Does anybody know how long will the battery last on the current version?

julbaxter 11y ago

Does someone know if they are using ROS?

GolDDranks 11y ago

#robotsarepeopletoo #botrights

geerlingguy 11y ago

Does anyone else start to think of Blinky[1] when the guy starts pushing around the robot? [1] http://youtu.be/P0lKDy6E918 http://youtu.be/P0lKDy6E918

mangeletti 11y ago

As I've watched these videos over the years, it's been impossible, especially now, for me to not see how these and other such robots will replace and eventually extinct all humans. In theory, a family of 4 humans could run a global economy run by robots and no humans. That's a sort of ridiculous, maximal state, but what makes any of us think that, given a continuum from the current state to that maximal state, we won't be somewhere closer to that state in 30 years, especially when considering the unreasonably effectiveness of rent seeking on technology-driven monopolies (e.g., Amazon)?

atonse 11y ago

What's crazy to me is that there's something "organic" enough about the way these machines are behaving, that I actually feel bad for the robot when the guy knocks over the boxes. I think I wouldn't feel that bad if this were a self-driving forklift. And it's not even an uncanny valley thing, or maybe it is?

amai 11y ago

Atlas is not alone: http://www.theroboticschallenge.org/teams http://www.theroboticschallenge.org/teams

matzipan 11y ago

I empathized when the robot faceplanted...

jbdigriz 11y ago

It's funny how this video is what everyone in IT thinks work will be like before they get their first job. Meanwhile, this is what work is actually like at every IT job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIIWX80KBUE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIIWX80KBUE