Boston Dynamics, the Alphabet-owned robotics company, unveiled a new robot this week that robotics experts say is unlike anything they’ve ever seen before.
The towering 6ft 5in robot is the latest brainchild of Google-owned company Boston Dynamics, “Handle” robot looks like an impressive piece of tech, able to leap four feet in the air and confidently navigate varying terrain.
The massive legged, wheeled machine is called Handle. Marc Raibert, the CEO of Boston Dynamics, called it “nightmare inducing.” (Video of Handle was first seen in January, when venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson posted a YouTube video of Raibert introducing the new creation at a conference.).
The bot can leap four feet straight into the air. In the video, Handle makes a running leap onto a high platform, then rolls off and lands without so much as a stumble.
In a newly released demonstration video, the Handle struts its stuff at about 9 MPH on a pair of reverse-jointed legs that can be modified with more traditional “feet” for traversing uneven terrain, allowing it the “best of both worlds,” according to its creators.
Handle is shown performing rapid 360-degree spins without losing balance, rolling down a snowy hillside, and easily descending concrete steps. Handle can lift and transport significant weight across its 15-mile single-charge range. In the video, it lowers its Tyrannosaurus Rex-like arms to lift and carry a 100 lb crate.