Google's robot is so agile it performs Karate stunts in video
12 Nov 2014
A video featuring a new robot built by the Google-owned Boston Dynamics, shows the robot reenacting the classic scene in The Karate Kid standing atop a small barrel on a beach trying to maintain its balance even as it performs assorted moves.
According to 9to5Google, the robot, nicknamed Ian, stands at 6 feet 2 inches and weighs around 330 pounds, considered light as it is made entirely of metal.
Boston Dynamics, which began began as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was acquired in 2013 by Google (See: Google acquires robotics firm Boston Dynamics).
The company had made some of the most impressive robots of all Google's recently acquired firms. Its past creations include the Cheetah, a four-legged robot whose speed topped 28.3 miles per hour, beating Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt's best day run; and BigDog, a hulking four-legged robo-beast designed to negotiate rough terrain and maintain its balance even when shoved forcefully.
Ian formed part of an ongoing robotics project that sought to create automatons that could replace humans in hazardous roles like firefighting. Ian had already demonstrated a variety of abilities, including traversing difficult and uneven terrain, carrying objects such as firehoses, and even getting into a car and driving it. It could also use both its hands and feet to climb over the most treacherous obstacles.
Ian carries two cameras in its head and a laser range finder that provided it with the necessary depth perception to accomplish many tasks that most other robots simply would not be able to.
Ian, which has a total of 28 moveable joints throughout its body can also turn its head to get a better view of its surroundings.
The Atlas robot is powered by an electric generator that needs to be near the robot and connected through a cable. However, according to Boston Dynamics this restriction would eventually be able to be eliminated. The Atlas model was originally revealed in 2013 and had received several major upgrades since then.
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