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Boston Dynamics' New Atlas Robot Is a Swiveling, Shape-Shifting Nightmare

Jess Weatherbed reports via The Verge: It's alive! A day after announcing it was retiring Atlas, its hydraulic robot, Boston Dynamics has introduced a new, all-electric version of its humanoid machine. The next-generation Atlas robot is designed to offer a far greater range of movement than its pre...

The new version has been redesigned with swiveling joints that the company claims make it "uniquely capable of tackling dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks." The video starts with Atlas lying in a cadaver-like fashion on the floor before it swiftly folds its legs backward over its body and rises to a standing position in a manner befitting some kind of Cronenberg body-horror flick. Its curved, illuminated head does add some Pixar lamp-like charm, but the way Atlas then spins at the waist and marches toward the camera really feels rather jarring.

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