One of Boston Dynamics' Atlas robots attempts a leap in an obstacle course. (Boston Dynamics)
Robots have come a long way over the years and there is one company that is constantly breaking new ground.
Boston Dynamics.
We covered this American company before both on this website and in our eMag—they specialize in a variety of robots that each perform certain tasks/style of movement. For example, Spot is one of their most famous robots—its design is based heavily on a dog.
Another of their more well-known robots is Atlas, which is very much like a human. Its designers and programmers have worked hard to create a robot that mimics not only our two-legged, upright stance, but also our abilities to walk, run, jump, and more. The result is a surprisingly agile machine that is even able to recover from being knocked off balance.
Show us your stuff
Sounds impressive, you say, but what else can it do? Well, would you believe that it can flip backwards? More than once? And as a pair?
If perfectly synchronized backflipping robots sounds like something you'd love to have in your life, look no further than this super awesome video. In it, one, then two Atlas robots run, turn, and leap their way through an obstacle course. Then things get REALLY tricky when they perform mirror image moves that end in a pair of backflips!
To see it for yourself, watch the video below.
The robots were probably programmed—not somebody controlling it.