Military Robot Fueled By Google Technology Has Learned Karate
from: CBS (San Fransisco)
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) – The Pentagon-backed team developing a robotic soldier that looks like something out of ‘Terminator’ has released a new video showing off the balance and mobility of their creation.
The two-legged Atlas robot is the work of Boston Dynamics, a recent Google acquisition. The project to develop the hydraulic, human shaped hero is overseen by DARPA, a wing of the U.S. Defense Department. The tool, which researchers say will someday rescue people in environments where humans can’t survive, appeared in 2013 and has been undergoing refinements since.
The latest video – released by research partner ihmc Robotics – shows the robot carrying out Daniel LaRusso’s famous training montage from “The Karate Kid” while balancing on a pile of cinder blocks.
At 6’2″ and 330 pounds, the robot – known as Ian – can also walk, jump and drive a car.
The original design for the Atlas requires a tethered power source, but researchers are reportedly working to eliminate that handicap.
Google acquired Boston Dynamics a year ago. At that point, the company had already gained Internet fame for similar YouTube videos of animal-inspired creations accomplishing difficult tasks.
