Atlas robot adds high-wire balancing to its list of human tricks

A new video of the Atlas humanoid robot offers more proof that one day soon we'll have natural-looking robots swaggering down our streets, and we'll just have to deal with it. 

In the video, posted just days ago, we see the robot, created by Boston Dynamics, balancing itself on a 2-centimeter wide strip of plywood, arms flailing about for balance in much the same way as a human's would. But the most amazing part may not be the balancing act, but the way in which the robot eventually loses its balance and steps off the plank — it's almost identical to a human's balance and recovery movements.  Read more...