In December 2013, Google acquired Boston Dynamics, an engineering company that designs mobile research robots for the Pentagon.
The company recently released a video of Atlas, a 6-foot-2, 300-plus-pound humanoid robot also known as “Ian,” performing the iconic crane kick from the The Karate Kid.
Ian is part of an ongoing robotics program at Boston Dynamics, seeking to create robots that could eventually replace humans in hazardous roles and jobs. Ian, or Atlas, has already shown the ability to traverse difficult and uneven terrain, carry objects and even get into a car and drive it.
The robot’s head is made of two cameras, using a laser rangefinder that provides Ian with the depth perception to perform tasks that other robots can’t. Ian can turn its head to view its surroundings and has 28 moveable joints in its body.
Is this the beginnings of a future Terminator? You decide. Even if the robots master Karate, it isn’t until they learn Kung-Fu then move onto Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that humans are really screwed.