December 23, 2024

Watch the Boston Dynamics robot family dance like 2020 was a good year

Boston Dynamics #BostonDynamics

With a namesake like Atlas, you wouldn’t think Boston Dynamics’ bipedal robot would be the most lithe specimen on the planet. But then we’ve already seen it has a knack for parkouring, and now you can add dancing to its list of talents. In its latest sure-to-be viral video, we see Atlas and the entire Boston Dynamics family, including the dog-like Spot and box-stacking Handle, dance to “Do You Love Me” from The Contours. And as a 6’2 man, let me just say I’m jealous that anything so tall can move with so much mobility and grace. 

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Boston Dynamics robot gyrate its limbs to a classic tune. Back in 2018, the then SoftBank subsidiary shared a video of Spot dancing to “Uptown Funk.” Watching the two clips consecutively highlights just how far the company’s robots have come in two short years. The dance we saw Spot pull off in 2018 was impressive, but it wasn’t able to dance pointe like its 2020 counterpart.

The video comes at the end of what has been a busy year for Boston Dynamics. Earlier this month, Hyundai purchased an 80 percent stake in the company, making it the firm’s third owner in the span of a decade. Spot also went on sale in 2020 (for the eye-watering price of $74,500) and someone in Canada even got to see one out in the wild.

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