What just happened? We've slowly watched the evolution of Boston Dynamics' robots, from drunkenly staggering around to performing acrobatic feats. Now, the company's machines have put on an end-of-year dance that is both amazing and slightly terrifying to those waiting for the robot uprising.
In the video posted Tuesday, we see the entire Boston Dynamics lineup performing some fantastic moves and choreographic sequences to Do You Love Me by The Contours. Leading the show are two of the company's Atlas robots, joined by the canine-like Spot and box-stacking Handle.
After the original versions struggled to put one foot in front of the other without falling over, the five-foot bipedal Atlas showed off its parkour and backflipping skills in 2017, graduating to leaping over logs, and performing gymnastics last year.
Spot is another of Boston Dynamics' famous creations. The Massachusetts State Police bomb squad is just one of several organizations and companies to use the robot, which went on sale earlier this year for a wallet-crushing $74,500.
Finally, there's Handle, which gets its name from being able to move boxes around warehouses autonomously. It looks quite freaky, though not as bad as the original "nightmare-inducing" design. It reminded me of the Wheelers from Return to Oz.
"Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year," the company writes. "Happy New Year from all of us at Boston Dynamics."
This isn't the first dancing display by Boston Robotics' creations. Spot showed off its solo skills to the tune of Uptown Funk in 2018.
Earlier this month, Hyundai confirmed its acquisition of Boston Dynamics for around $880 million. The carmaker agreed to buy an 80 percent stake, with current owner SoftBank, which purchased it from Google in 2017, retaining a 20 percent share.
https://www.techspot.com/news/88120-watch-boston-dynamics-robots-perform-end-year-dance.html
