The robotics company retired its hydraulic humanoid robot, Atlas, on Tuesday and introduced its new, fully electric Atlas in a video on Wednesday.
"We're excited to demonstrate the capabilities of the world's most dynamic humanoid robot—in the lab, in the factory, and in our daily lives," the company stated in a press release.
"We have designed the electric Atlas to be stronger, more dexterous, and more agile," the company added. "While Atlas may resemble a human form, we are optimizing the robot to move efficiently to complete tasks, rather than limiting it to human-like movements. Atlas will perform movements that surpass human capabilities."
The video showcases Atlas initially lying on the ground, then twisting its legs backward to prop itself up, standing to full height, swiveling on its torso, and walking toward the camera.
Boston Dynamics is exploring commercial applications for the new Atlas, starting with Hyundai, which acquired the robotics firm in 2021. Competitor Agility Robotics has a partnership allowing Amazon to use its bipedal robots, known as Digit, for lifting and moving items in select warehouses.
Boston Dynamics claims the fully electric Atlas "will be stronger, with a broader range of motion than any of our previous generations."
Aside from Atlas, Boston Dynamics has introduced Spot, a four-legged doglike robot that some police departments have begun using. An artist-in-residence at SpaceX has even trained Spot robots to paint, leading to their own art exhibit.
Atlas may have served as an inspiration for Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus.
Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert suggested on a recent episode of Lex Fridman's podcast that "it's hard not to think that seeing what Atlas is doing is a little bit of an inspiration" for the Tesla Bot.
