James Vincent at The Verge writes:
In a glossy new video, [Boston Dynamics] has shown off its prototype Atlas robot tossing planks and tool bags around in a fake construction site.
[…]
“We’re not just thinking about how to make the robot move dynamically through its environment, like we did in Parkour and Dance,” said Kuindersma. “Now, we’re starting to put Atlas to work and think about how the robot should be able to perceive and manipulate objects in its environment.”
[…]
It’s a notable change in messaging from the Hyundai-owned company, which has never previously emphasized how its bipedal machines could be used in the workplace.
In an announcement on the Boston Dynamics blog Calvin Hennick writes:
While some Boston Dynamics robots, such as Spot and Stretch, are commercially available, Atlas is purely a research platform. The Atlas team focuses on pushing the forefront of what’s possible. The leaps and bounds forward in Atlas’ R&D can help improve the hardware and software of these other robots, while also advancing toward a “go anywhere, do anything” robot—capable of performing essentially all the same physical tasks as a person.
James Vincent again:
As ever, when parsing marketing materials from companies like Boston Dynamics, it’s important to notice what the company doesn’t say, as well as what it does. In this case, Boston Dynamics hasn’t announced a new product, it’s not saying it’s going to start selling Atlas, and it’s not making predictions about when its bipedal robots might work in factories. For now, we’re just getting something fun to watch. But that’s how Spot started, too.
Do watch their YouTube video. It is, as with pretty much all of Boston Dynamics demonstrations, both super impressive and a little frightening. However, if you ever find yourself getting concerned about an imminent robot uprising you might find some solace in the fact that the robots would surely go after Boston Dynamics employees first.