Boston Dynamics has been teaching its old bots new tricks – Atlas, its humanoid robot that walks on two legs, can now do a surprisingly elegant gymnastics routine, tumbling into a handstand, followed by cartwheels and including a jump twist. This level of athleticism (can a robot express ‘athleticism’?) is incredibly impressive, given that this is a 330 lb robot that could “barely walk” in 2013 when the prototype was first developed.
Atlas’ movement in this routine is at once incredibly human-like, and also something beyond human – especially when it turtles in preparation for its first somersault.