Seth Davis, senior program manager on Boston Dynamics’ Atlas team, describes Atlas’s World Cup halftime role and how the robot is being developed for factory work.
Atlas went to a New York/New Jersey stadium for a Round of 16 game. At halftime, it handed the game ball to the referees to begin the second half.
Davis says Atlas is designed for work such as manufacturing and warehouse tasks. The team also adapted it for soccer actions and a public event, including kicking and carrying a ball.
The team works on core capabilities such as walking and precise object manipulation, as well as tasks that involve interacting with people. Davis says the event showed what the robot can do in a way that could help people understand its potential.
Davis says customers value the work a robot enables, not the robot itself. In industrial settings, he gives inspections and understanding plant health as examples of the desired outcomes.
Atlas is moving from prototype demonstrations, such as backflips and picking up parts, toward factory work. Davis describes the robot as one part of a larger system Boston Dynamics builds to support useful work on a factory team.
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