Boston Dynamics is a company that makes robots. They made an amazing humanoid by the name of Atlas. Humanoids are non-human things that appear to be human. Every time the company releases a video showing Atlas doing new acrobatic tricks the Internet pays attention.

most of the robot’s movement has remained well within the range of an average human’s athletic abilities. For example, jogging, hopping over a log or doing high jumps.

The recent video shows major improvements to the robot. In just a few months, Atlas has improved from a middle schooler’s athletic skills to the skills of a professional athlete. Atlas stands 4 feet 9 inches tall and is battery-powered. In the 38-second video, it completes an extremely nimble routine, using its legs, arms and waist. The robot demonstrates the beautiful ability that you might see in a human with years of training.

In the video’s description the company said they created the movements by using new methods that simplify the robot’s development. A computer calculation translates descriptions of each motion into movements. Then Atlas tracks the motions using a controller that smoothly blends motions together. 

Despite that flow, the robot isn’t perfect, according to its handlers.

“Using this approach, we developed the routine significantly faster than previous Atlas routines,” the company wrote. It also enabled them to reach a performance success rate of about 80 percent.

A few hours after the video was posted online, it had been watched 1.5 million times and there were thousands of comments. Many suggested the robot’s improved athleticism was evidence that humankind’s power over machines is coming close to an end.

“So we just going to keep acting like we never seen Terminator?” one commenter wrote. Terminator is a science fiction movie made 35 years ago about a dangerous cyborg.

“Absolutely amazing! I can smell the future where robots are roaming in the streets with us!” posted another commenter. 

In recent years, Boston Dynamics has become known for two things. One, creating robots whose movements mimic humans and animals. Many find their accuracy surprising and concerning. The second reason is posting mysterious videos of these robots online without warning. The videos quickly go viral and spread a mixture of excitement and terror over the rapid rise of self-operating machines.

All we know is that this knowledge can only go forwards .