Dancing Robot
Incredible choreography of the dancing robots of Boston Dynamics
The company broadcast a video with an end-of-year greeting where you can see the models Spot, Atlas, and Handle moving to the rhythm of the song Do you love me?
Boston Dynamics posted a video on its YouTube channel in which three of its robots are dancing to the rhythm of the song, Do you love me? While it is not the first time that these devices dance, the truth is that in this case, it is surprising how well the three coordinate their choreography.
The first to appear on stage is Atlas, a humanoid robot weighing 80 kilos and measuring 1.5 meters. After a few seconds, another Atlas goes along with to move in a coordinated way.
These models have one of the most compact mobile hydraulic systems in the world. They integrate motors, valves, and 28 hydraulic joints that give them excellent mobility. Atlas is also skilled at pirouettes. Besides, it stands out in the dance, as you can see in the video, where the two robots of this design deploy their arms from one side to the other and move their legs with ease.
After a while, the famous quadruped Spot model joins the dance. The dog robot jumps and moves its extremities in total coordination while following the choreography together with the other two Atlas robots. Spot’s base platform provides advanced mobility and perception to navigate stairs and uneven terrain while collecting 2D and 3D information thanks to its integrated sensors.
The spot has been employed for multiple purposes during this pandemic. It has been used in hospitals in the United States to help physicians monitor patients remotely. And also to help to maintain social distancing in public spaces in Singapore.
Besides, NASA/JPL-Caltech researchers recently unveiled a project to explore and learn more about the hidden corners of Mars involving the use of an adapted model of these autonomous quadrupeds from Boston Dynamics. One of Spot’s most appreciated skills is its ability to move over uneven terrain at a good pace. A rhythm that, as seen in the clip, they can also maintain when they dance.
The latest to appear on the scene is Handle, a robot designed mainly to move boxes and unload trucks. It moves on wheels and has deep learning vision software to identify as well as locate cases. In the video, he is moving the joints of his two legs up and down, as well as his robotic arm with the music.
Boston Dynamics is one of the most promising companies in the field of robotics. The company was founded in 1992 by engineer Marc Raibert, a former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2013 it was acquired by Google, in 2017 it was bought by the Japanese SoftBank and, on December 10th it was acquired by Hyundai.
