Boston Dynamics: building robots to do the jobs humans shouldn’t

The article discusses Boston Dynamics' development of the humanoid robot Atlas, highlighting a recent shift from exploratory research to productization aimed at industrial applications. After over 17 years of development, confidence in delivering a commercially viable humanoid robot emerged around two and a half years ago, driven by advances in hardware design that made Atlas robust and manufacturable, and significant progress in AI tailored specifically for robotics. This AI breakthrough has enabled a new level of generality and capability in robots, marking a genuine inflection point for humanoid robotics. A key rationale for choosing a humanoid form factor is compatibility with existing human-centric environments such as factories and warehouses, avoiding costly infrastructure redesigns required by specialized machines. Atlas’s humanoid design allows it to operate within the same physical footprint and ergonomic constraints as humans, while offering industrial-level strength, such as lifting up to 110 pounds. Boston Dynamics emphasizes that Atlas is being developed as a product rather than just a research platform, integrating hardware, AI behaviors, and application