Watch: The Atlas humanoid robot can now balance on thin planks

It seems there’s little that the cuddly (well not really) Altas humanoid robot can’t do. From romping down the countryside scaring the dickens out of unwary hikers and furry animals, to putting Karate Kid to shame with a couple of front kicks, to perhaps even coming to the rescue of humanity in due course, this biped metalhead can now officially balance.

This is actually a pretty big deal in the robotic world--balance is a delicate concert of biological muscle control and enormous amounts of--seemingly mundane--brain processing power. It’s something that has generally been associated only with living organisms, but clearly not any more.

In this clip posted by the robot’s creators Boston Dynamics (also well-known for developing all manner of headless mechanical beasts, a different story altogether,) the robot takes up the challenge of balancing on a 2-centimeter wide strip of wood. It’s something even most humans would fail miserably at. But not this intrepid robot--in what can be deemed a triumph in gyroscopic balance and processing prowess, the robot does a fine job of holding its position, gentle arm flailing notwithstanding, for close to 30 seconds.

Today it’s balancing on planks. Can a perfectly-executed Produnova be far behind?