The latest version of IHMC's Atlas has a new trick up its sleeve, one that makes it look like it's auditioning for a part in some kind of future-dystopian version of The Karate Kid. Thankfully, it can only pull off the balancing portion of the Crane Kick, which given the bot's weight and proportions, is still a rather remarkable technological achievement.
In this new video, the Boston Dynamics-built robot can be seen balancing atop three cinder blocks. To do so, it's relying on some pretty fancy algorithms developed by Forida's Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC). Incredibly, Atlas can be seen balancing on the bricks as it shifts its limbs and leg around.
It's even more incredible when you realize this thing weighs 330 pounds (150 kg).
Even though the developers said it was done for "the fun and challenge of it," the test makes a lot of sense considering the robot's future applications, including rescuing people from disaster areas. And in fact, Atlas has been some some obstacle course practice in the dark:
[ Via IEEE Spectrum ]