What just happened? Boston Dynamics' Atlas, the bipedal robot that we've spent 11 years watching evolve from a bumbling machine into a dancing, parkour-loving humanoid, is being retired. To mark the occasion, the company has released a video showing some of Atlas' highlights over the years, along with a few of its more spectacular fails.

The description beneath Boston Dynamics' farewell video, posted on YouTube, states that "it's time for our hydraulic Atlas robot to kick back and relax. Take a look back at everything we've accomplished with the Atlas platform to date."

Boston Dynamics never said why Atlas was being retired. The likelihood is that an all-new successor will replace it, especially as the text emphasizes that the hydraulic Atlas is going to kick back and relax. The use of the phrase "to date" is also telling.

Update (one day later): Boston Dynamics unveils impressive all-electric Atlas robot – A generational leap in humanoid robotics

Atlas was created in 2013, the same year Boston Dynamics was acquired by Google, with funding from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Designed to perform search and rescue tasks, the first version was an imposing 6-foot 2-inches tall, weighed 330 pounds, and was tethered to a power supply via a thick cable.

Boston Dynamics, which was bought by Hyundai in 2021, has been iterating on Atlas' design over the years. After barely being able to walk when first unveiled, it was performing parkour and backflips by 2017. A year later, Atlas was jogging, leaping over logs, and bounding from one 40cm step to another, using its legs, arms, and torso to drive its jumps and for balancing. It progressed to full-on gymnastics in 2019.

More recently, we saw some of Atlas' practical applications. A demo video showed the robot using its hand gripper to aid a (fake) construction worker. Atlas is seen picking up a 2x8 and using it to create a bridge before navigating the scaffolding while carrying a pack of tools. The robot is also able to throw a bag up to the worker using a 180-degree jump, finishing off its display with a 540-degree, multi-axis flip.

Another video, called Atlas Struts, shows off the robot's augmented reality abilities as it performs tasks you would normally see on a factory floor.

Atlas might be gone, but don't be surprised if Boston Dynamics unveils an even more worrying Terminator progenitor soon.