ATLAS is an incredible machine. There’s no way around that. First unveiled in 2013, the humanoid robot can now walk around autonomously, move boxes around, and implicitly threaten to destroy humanity. This level of sophistication is exactly why it’s so damn funny when ATLAS fucks up.
Boston Dynamics, the company that builds this incredible robot, recently gave a presentation at the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders. It was a pretty normal dog-and-pony show for the company. ATLAS walked around the stage autonomously, while a human guided SpotMini the dogbot across the stage with a controller.
Everything was going great until it came time for ATLAS to exit the stage. Even though the robot had successfully pulled off the maneuver in rehearsal, ATLAS really ate it during the actual performance. By the looks of it, ATLAS caught his foot on a stage light and just went ass over elbows through the back curtain.
But again, how can we be mad at ATLAS? This robot is a true feat of human engineering and ingenuity. Armies of them might even fight wars for us one day. Which brings us back to that Terminator reference. We’re probably doomed to die at the feet of ATLAS in the inevitable robot uprising, so we might as well get our yuks in now.