VIDEO: THE ATLAS ROBOT SHOWS OFF ITS BACKFLIP SKILLS

Robots that can walk is one thing, but what about a robot that can do backflips?
Boston Dynamics released a video of its latest Atlas humanoid robot that can not only hop, jump and spin, but also do a complete backflip before sticking the landing like a gymnast.

The Atlas humanoid is making moves like it is trying out for the Olympics. In the video below, the robot hops onto a box, hops across to another box, then to the floor, then jumps onto a box twice as tall as the first two. Then it jumps into the air and spins around, lands back on the box, does another jump and mid-air spin, lands on the ground then jump on an even taller box.

Atlas does another spin, squats, leaps high into the air, where it executes a perfect backflip and lands on a platform while keeping its balance and raising its arms in triumph. The humanoid's control system coordinates the motion of the arms, torso and legs to achieve whole body mobile manipulation. Atlas' balance while performing tasks allows it to work in a large volume while occupying only a small footprint.

The Atlas hardware takes advantage of 3D printing to save weight and space, resulting in a remarkable compact robot with high strength-to-weight ration and a dramatically large workspace.

The video of Atlas doing its flips can be viewed below: