A little early holiday surprise from Boston Dynamics this week, as the electric Santa-suited Atlas performs a throwback. The achievement comes about 13 minutes into a new video, showcasing yet another trick in the humanoid robot's arsenal.
It is worth noting that – unlike humans – a robot performing a backflip is not necessarily more complicated than walking. That said, roboticists tend to focus on useful tasks like first movement. Still, it's impressive to see just how powerful Boston Dynamics' new robot is proving to be — and that it managed to keep its Santa hat on the whole time.
The electric Atlas is following in the footsteps of its hydraulic predecessor, who debuted this ability in 2017. Recently, Unitree's humanoid has been showing off its gymnastics skills.
