Boston Dynamics has developed a robot called Atlas that can learn parkour. The engineers at the company give Atlas a high-level map of a parkour course and indicate where it should go and what stunts it should perform. These maps could be more precise, but they provide enough information to allow the robot to navigate the course.
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot
The Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot has been working with a team of researchers for two years to develop its skills in parkour. The group provides the robot with a map of a parkour course and instructions on what moves it should perform. The map contains an approximate description of the system, obstacle navigation templates, and annotated actions. The map is not geometrically precise, but it provides enough information to guide the robot through a course.
The video shows the robot executing various parkour moves. It is the first time a robot has performed the same routine as an average human. The robot can jump, vault, flip, jog, and perform abrupt turns. Boston Dynamics hopes to continue developing this robot’s skills in the future.
Atlas is now driven by perception instead of pre-programmed movements. It uses depth and RGB cameras to detect the surroundings. This allows the engineers to remove the need for pre-programming jumping motions. Instead, they can create template behaviors based on the surroundings, which they can later use to train Atlas. The robot also has three onboard computers that handle the computation required to perceive the environment and plot its course.
The Boston Dynamics Atlas robot can execute various moves in response to multiple obstacles. However, it is less graceful than a human and has difficulty vaulting over low-balance beams. Atlas is also limited by the lack of shoulder blades and a spine, making it difficult to rely on its range of motion.
Atlas is not commercially available, but researchers will use it to develop other robotic systems. The robot will need more sophisticated sensors and possibly even hands. It is unlikely to replace humans anytime soon, but it is an excellent example for the industry to learn from. If Boston Dynamics continues working on it, the Atlas robot may become a commercial product in five years.
Boston Dynamics engineers used behavior-based control architecture to create the program that enables the Atlas robot to move. Behavioral-based control architecture requires the robot to develop modules of actions that are based on its perception of the environment and its status. The software also needs to be adaptable and repeatable to ensure that the robot can do what it is supposed to.
Boston Dynamics teaches atlas parkour.
The engineers at Boston Dynamics are working to make the company’s Atlas robot capable of learning new skills. They have designed an advanced software platform to train Atlas to complete parkour exercises. The software will keep growing with Atlas as he develops more abilities. Recently, a video of the Atlas robot running through an obstacle course at a parkour gym went viral.
The video shows Atlas performing different stunts like jumping, backflips, and vaults. It also shows how it can run on tight and narrow paths. The robot has developed some basic skills, like changing balance when awkwardly landing. Boston Dynamics engineers are also working on a new feature that will make Atlas even more versatile.
To teach Atlas to do parkour, Boston Dynamics engineers first provide the robot with a high-level map of the parkour course. They also offer annotated action templates and other information for the robot. These maps can be simple, but they should give Atlas the basic information necessary to navigate.
The Atlas robot has depth and vision sensors, but its sensors will need to be more advanced to perform more complex tasks. It will also need hands for handling objects. The robot will be ready for commercial use for a while, but its mission is to provide a platform for the robotics industry to learn and improve.
In this video, the Atlas robot performs a vault, using its arm to pull itself over a bar. However, the robot’s arms aren’t strong relative to its body, and its arm movement makes it difficult for Atlas to maintain balance. The result is a spectacular video.
Challenges of teaching a robot to do parkour
Teaching a robot to do parkour is a challenging task. While humans can perform seemingly impossible tricks on a robot, they can still be prepared to jump, run, and perform other parkour-related tasks. It can do double jumps, pull-ups, and even flips. It can also launch itself vertically and hook on the edge of an obstacle. The team has already tested XRL on a treadmill and has seen it clearing about 70% of the challenges it faced.
The biggest challenge is scale. Training a robot to perform physical tasks requires more than teaching a human being. The robots would require years of training, involving a massive investment in gear and repairs. Even if a research team could cut training time in half by using multiple prototypes on separate tracks, the cost would be tremendous.
A humanoid robot is not ideal for specific tasks, but parkour has a broad appeal for robotic assistance. A robotic dog with the skill and agility of a human would be a great help in certain situations. In the future, helper robots will also need to be able to perform these tasks.
Boston Dynamics has been working on a robot that mimics parkour. The company’s Atlas robot has been featured on Ny Teknik before, but now Boston Dynamics researchers have taken it one step further by teaching the robot to do parkour jumping. Atlas was initially programmed to handle many different events and was then introduced to mimic human parkour by learning the skills of human parkour.
Boston Dynamics engineers gave Atlas a high-level map of the parkour course to work with. They included in this map where Atlas should move and what moves it should perform. These maps could be more geometrically accurate, but they provide enough information for Atlas to navigate.
This research project aims to develop a robot that can learn parkour skills with human-like precision. As the robot learns the skills, it becomes more autonomous. It can even move from one obstacle to another. It will also be able to move in an environment different from its own.
Cost of training
If you’ve ever been interested in learning about parkour, the Boston Dynamics Atlas robot may be just what you need. Unlike unmanned robots that have to be piloted by humans, Atlas robots can navigate a parkour course flawlessly. The robots have recently been filmed performing parkour moves, including vaulting over beams and leaping from platform to platform. This video shows the robot’s training and performance on a difficult parkour course, including several media, a slanted ramp, and a balance beam. The video starts with a single robot but later adds two robots, which jump and jog across the course. They can move through tight spaces, even over slanted surfaces, so it’s not surprising that the robots have out-jumped the average human.
The Boston Dynamics engineers give Atlas a high-level map of a parkour course, indicating where to go and what stunts it should perform. The map could be better, but it contains enough basic information to guide the robot through its course. The software also has obstacle navigation templates, making the robots’ navigation easier.
This robot has been designed to perform parkour on various terrain and environments. It has sensors that enable it to detect obstacles, create targets, and execute moves. The robot can move over rough terrain and is equipped with stereo vision. It is also designed to get back up if it falls and can do backflips and 180-degree jumps.
Atlas has been a star in the parkour world, but Boston Dynamics has yet to make any money from the robot. It’s still a research platform, and it’s still being determined if it’ll become a commercial product soon. The company has a significant investment in humanoid robots and hopes to build a future that uses them for many tasks.
A robot with advanced parkour skills is not just for the rich but for the average person. Atlas can jump up a tiered platform, run across a balance beam, and do backflips and handstands. It can adjust its behavior to adapt to the environment and what it sees, eliminating the need for engineers to program jump motions for every platform and gap.