[VIDEO] Meet Atlas, The Robot Designed to Save The Day
Atlas has been designed to be able to go into disaster zones where it would be unsafe to send people. It can handle rocky terrain and the flexibility of its hands will aid rescues. However, its skills could just as easily be put to use on the battlefield, where they would be stronger and more accurate than a soldier.
By Sadho Ram — 14 Jul 2013, 02:39 AM — Updated about 11 years ago
WATCH: Atlas, the real world Terminator, being put through its paces
The front (left image) and back of ATLAS, a roughly 300-pound humanoid robot revealed by DARPA on July 11, 2013. (Credit: DARPA)
Image via washingtonpost.comThis robot is able to walk through battlefields as bullets fly and even nuclear disaster zones to rescue the injured
Walking tall: A version of Atlas without its arms walks on a treadmill at Boston Dynamics.
Image via technologyreview.comAt 6ft 2in tall and weighing 330lb Atlas is a formidable figure. And with 28 hydraulically actuated joints and stereo vision, it is one of the most advanced robots ever.
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Man-machine: Atlas was developed for the military agency DARPA as a prototype emergency response robot.
Image via technologyreview.comAlthough the robot, designed by DARPA and Boston Dynamics, is built to help respond to disasters, such as the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan in 2011, it looks like it could easily star in the Terminator films.
flesheatingzipper.com
Its potential use in war seems more likely considering the team behind it also designed BigDog, the robotic dog due to be used by the Marines.
dailymail.co.ukThe robot's 28 hydraulic joints can replicate most human moves and its hands, provided by iRobot and Sandia National Labs, can surpass them.
technologyreview.comAlthough it is currently linked to an external power supply the robot has the ability to run off its own power, leaving it free to roam. This ability will be useful when considering the robot's main purpose.
cbsnews.comThe only thing the robot is currently missing is a brain, but more than a dozen teams of engineers are preparing to compete for the chance to provide it. At the DARPA Robotics Challenge, each team will load software into Atlas and test it in a series of disaster response trials.
dailymail.co.ukPHOTO: The real ATLAS!
t’s pretty crazy to see where these robots evolved from and how fast they’re becoming what we’ve seen in Terminator and I, Robot. The winning team gets funding from DARPA and ongoing technical support from Boston Dynamics.
Image via flesheatingzipper.com