Watch a Boston Dynamics humanoid robot wander around outside

Developed by Boston Dynamics, which Google bought in late 2013, the 1.88-meter tall, 156-kilogram Atlas is an experimental bipedal rescue machine with two arms that can use tools for humans.

Next, humanoid robot Atlas, an early prototype for the Terminator that will one day destroy us, is seen striding across uneven rocky surfaces and stalking through the woods.

Boston Dynamics is experimenting with 3D-printed parts, such as valves for hydraulic fluid, as well as shell and lattice structures for robot legs to make them stronger and lighter, Raibert said. In YouTube videos posted by the company, we’ve watched the lithe and silent Spot tread lightly up and down a grassy ramp, seen BigDog splash through waves at the beach, and found that the LS3 can cheerfully romp through a few feet of snow. The push to get robots outside has come thanks to advancements in batteries and electric motors – a lack of power-cord tether let Boston Dynamics’ cheetah bot go bounding through MIT’s campus last September.

Still, having humanoids like Atlas walk through “wild” terrain brings them a step closer to making them useful to people.

“This isn’t completely out in the world because there’s the power tether”, said Raibert. Atlas in action outside the lab is new – no doubt Boston Dynamics’ way of telling a cowed planet, “Be afraid”.