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Watch This Google Robot Roam Freely Through the Woods

 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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A new Google robot is running around in the woods of eastern Massachusetts, and this time there's no power cord preventing it from going anywhere it pleases.

In a video posted to YouTube yesterday (below), Google subsidiary Boston Dynamics unveiled the latest addition to its lineup of humanoid robots. The video is cleverly edited to evoke a science fiction film—part E.T., part robot horror movie. It starts with the robot opening the door to the Boston Dynamics headquarters in Waltham, Mass., crossing the parking lot, and entering the snow-covered woods.

After returning to the factory, a bearded employee gives the robot the task of picking up a 10-pound box, which it does with no problem. But then the employee cruely strikes the box from the robot's circular hands. It's not fazed, and walks right back over to the box and picks it up again.

As if that wasn't enough to prove the robot's resiliency, the employee then hits it from behind with a cardboard tube so hard that it falls over. Eventually, the robot rights itself, and the video ends with it walking out the factory door. Will it seek revenge on an unsuspecting human?

The robot's body is very similar to the rest of the Atlas lineup of humanoid robots, which Boston Dynamics has been working on for years. But the lack of a power cord sets this one apart. In an August 2015 video, the company's founder Marc Raibert explained that untethering it was a priority.

In addition to being a Google subsidiary, Boston Dynamics also designs robots for the U.S. military under a DARPA grant.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.

About Our Expert

Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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