Boston Dynamics puts wheels on Atlas’s feet to test whole-body control
The new video shows Atlas rolling fast on flat ground and walking over obstacles; the company calls it a research experiment.
Boston Dynamics put wheels on the feet of its robot Atlas so it can roll fast on flat ground and walk over obstacles. It is a science test, not something for sale.
Hype check
Louder than it deserves. The real change is smaller.
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Why it matters
The experiment tests how far the actuators can go and how the control method copes with unpredictable ground, without promising a wheeled product.
Watch: a fun look at how robots learn movement in simulation.
The details
- Boston Dynamics released a video of Atlas with wheels on its feet and said it is a research testbed, not a product.
- The control combines classical model-based control for stability with a whole-body reinforcement-learning policy that handles disturbances.
- Atlas switches between fast rolling on flat ground and walking over obstacles and uneven surfaces, and performs pirouettes.
- The system was trained entirely in simulation and ran in the real world with surprising accuracy, says controls engineer Andy Wu; the change is an off-the-shelf scooter wheel on the ankle actuator.
- The team plans to study how the control reacts when an actuator stops working, which matters for safety.
Receipts
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