The team of tech wizards at Boston Dynamics has wrapped up 2020 by letting its robots loose on the dance floor.
Two years ago we were bowled over by Spot’s astonishing dance display to Bruno Mars’ jig-inducing Uptown Funk. This time around the dog-like Spot bot is joined by humanoid robot Atlas (two of them, actually) and the wheel-based box-budging Handle.
Strutting their stuff to The Contours’ Do You Love Me, the four robots thrill with some splendidly agile moves that would put most human dancers to shame.
“Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year,” the team behind the robots said in a message posted with the video, adding, “Happy New Year from all of us at Boston Dynamics.”
Atlas may look top-heavy and cumbersome, but when the music starts, its 28 hydraulic joints spring effortlessly into action, the 150-cm-tall robot dazzling us with moves that perfectly showcase the incredible efforts of the team that created it.
Next, enter Spot, the Boston Dynamics robot that this year hit the market for around $75,000, with a number of companies already adding it to their workforce. Judging by its latest performance, Spot has lost none of the dance skills that we last saw two years ago, even adding a few new moves to its already impressive repertoire.
Finally, in comes Handle. Originally designed for the somewhat drier task of moving boxes around warehouses, Handle shows that when the lights dim and the music starts, it, too, can roll with the best of ’em (yes, the wheels help).
If the machines do ever rise, expect them to begin with a dance display a bit like this one, lulling us into a false sense of security before the serious takeover work begins.
