RobotWatch | Atlas Arrives

Meet Atlas, the newest concept robot designed by Boston Dynamics for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Standing on two legs with eyes, arms, hands and fingers it is one of the most humanoid robots yet developed. Atlas was developed to aid in search and rescue efforts during humanitarian emergencies.

In a July 2013 New York Times article by John Markoff, Gary Bradski, a Silicon Valley artificial intelligence specialist declared that with Atlas, “A new species, Robo sapiens, are emerging."

Flying Under the Radar

The award-winning Nano Hummingbird by AeroVironment is getting a lot of attention these days. One of Time Magazine's 50 Best Inventions of 2011 and Popular Science's 2011 Best of What's New, the little bird bot represents biomimicry at its best. Yes, the mini-hummer was developed for DARPA making it the little-hover-spy-that-could, but it is sure to have many other uses outside the defense industry. One thing for sure, given all the press its received, its far from top secret technology.