HD Atlas
Atlas was the most agile humanoid in existence until it retired in 2024. This version, known as HD, or hydraulic, Atlas, used whole-body skills to move quickly and balance dynamically. It could lift and carry objects like boxes and crates, but its favorite tricks were running, jumping, and doing backflips.
- Creator
- Year
- 2016
- Country
- United States 🇺🇸
- Categories
- Features
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Did you know?
Atlas can keep its balance when jostled or pushed, and it is capable of getting up if it falls over.
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History
In 2012, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) selected the robotics firm Boston Dynamics to build the Atlas humanoid as part of the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). The DRC held a preliminary competition in December 2013. In early 2015, prior to the DRC Finals, Boston Dynamics and DARPA announced a new Atlas model, which now could function with batteries and no tethers. In 2016, Boston Dynamics unveiled the next-generation Atlas, a massively upgraded robot. Smaller, lighter, and more agile than previous models, the new robot was "electrically powered and hydraulically actuated," and was capable of operating inside buildings but also outdoors.
In April 2024, Boston Dynamics announced that it was retiring HD Atlas. "For almost a decade, Atlas has sparked our imagination, inspired the next generations of roboticists, and leapt over technical barriers in the field," the company said in a farewell video on YouTube. "Now it’s time for our hydraulic Atlas robot to kick back and relax."
Specs
- Overview
Designed to operate both outdoors and inside buildings. Whole-body dynamic stabilization. Able to sense obstacles and negotiate rough terrain autonomously or under teleoperation. Two-handed mobile manipulation. Electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. High strength-to-weight ratio and large workspace.
- Status
Discontinued
- Year
2016
- Website
- Height
- 150 cm
- Weight
- 80 kg
- Speed
- 5.4 km/h
- Sensors
Lidar and stereo vision
- Actuators
Hydraulic actuation with custom servo-valves
- Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
- 28
- Materials
3D-printed parts with actuators and hydraulic lines embedded in leg structures
- Compute
Custom control and computing system
- Software
Custom software
- Power
Battery powered
