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Boston Dynamics Retires Atlas With Video of the Robot's Coolest Jumps and Most Spectacular Falls

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Boston Dynamics Retires Atlas With Video of the Robot's Coolest Jumps and Most Spectacular Falls


Boston Dynamics is retiring Atlas, the most famous bipedal robot in existence, according to a new video published on the robotics company’s YouTube page. And we’d be lying if we didn’t admit to getting a little choked up watching the trials and tribulations of Atlas over the years.

“For almost a decade, Atlas has sparked our imagination, inspired the next generations of roboticists, and leapt over technical barriers in the field,” the description of this new YouTube video reads.

“Now it’s time for our hydraulic Atlas robot to kick back and relax. Take a look back at everything we’ve accomplished with the Atlas platform to date,” the description continues.

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Farewell to HD Atlas

Atlas has its origins way back in 2009 when Boston Dynamics won a $26 million contract with the U.S. Army to produce a bipedal robot that was originally called the PETMAN, joining other advanced robotics efforts of the 2000s like Honda’s Asimo and the other high-profile Boston Dynamics robot of that decade, BigDog.

Atlas achieved some incredible feats over the years, starting with walking like a normal human and then walking over rough surfaces. Before long, Atlas was battery-powered, jogging, and running up boxes in increasingly agile ways. Atlas was even tortured with hockey sticks and refused to take anything lying down.

But it may have been the moment Atlas started doing backflips that things really started to feel weird for humanity. Most people can’t do a backflip. When bipedal robots start doing things better than the average human, we should probably pay attention.

Is this really the end for Atlas, as it goes to sit in a rocking chair with the other robots of history? As IEEE Spectrum points out, the language in the new video announcing the retirement of Atlas is somewhat confusing.

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Now, if you’re wondering why Boston Dynamics is saying “it’s time for our hydraulic Atlas robot to kick back and relax,” rather than just “our Atlas robot,” and if you’re also wondering why the video description ends with “take a look back at everything we’ve accomplished with the Atlas platform “to date,” well, I can’t help you.

Gizmodo reached out for comment but didn’t immediately hear back from Boston Dynamics. We’ll update this post if the company provides any clarity.

Today, several startups are still working on bipedal robots with the promise that average people may one day own a robotic servant—something we’ve been waiting on for well over a century. And while some companies are far ahead of others, it remains to be seen whether we’ll all get our own Rosey from The Jetsons anytime soon.

Farewell, Atlas. You were both terrifying and exciting in equal measure, as all cutting-edge technology should be.



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Boston, MA

Condominium sells in Boston for $4.2 million

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Condominium sells in Boston for .2 million


A condominium located at 1 Dalton Street in Boston has a new owner. The 1,403-square-foot property, built in 2015, was sold on Oct. 21, 2024, for $4,200,000, or $2,994 per square foot. The layout of this condo includes two bedrooms and three baths. The home’s outer structure has a flat roof frame. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. In addition, the home is equipped with a one-car garage, allowing for convenient vehicle storage and protection.

These nearby units have also recently changed hands:

  • In July 2024, a 1,693-square-foot unit on Belvidere Street in Boston sold for $2,850,000, a price per square foot of $1,683. The unit has 2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.
  • On Belvidere Street, Boston, in October 2023, a 972-square-foot unit was sold for $1,400,000, a price per square foot of $1,440. The unit has 1 bedroom and 2 bathrooms.
  • A 837-square-foot unit at 100 Belvidere Street in Boston sold in April 2023, for $1,150,000, a price per square foot of $1,374. The unit has 1 bedroom 1 bathroom.

Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data. See more Real Estate News



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Boston, MA

More than 270 new homes approved in Boston this month

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More than 270 new homes approved in Boston this month


New development projects approved in the city of Boston this month will create an estimated 273 new homes, including 156 affordable homes.

At the Boston Planning and Development Agency Board’s monthly meeting on Thursday, the board approved six new residential development projects, some also include commercial space.

According to the board and planning documents, the developments will create about 241 construction jobs and seven permanent jobs.

Here are the projects approved this month:

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20 Charlesgate West, Fenway

The largest residential development approved this month was at 20 Charlesgate West in Kenmore Square, where Our Lady’s Guild House lodging house will be converted into 86 affordable apartments by the Fenway Community Development Corporation and the Archdiocese of Boston.

The development will be made up of 22 permanent supportive housing units for people coming out of homelessness, 45 studios and 19 one-bedroom apartments. Twenty units will be reserved for households making up to 30% of the area median income and 39 for households making up to 60% of the area median income.

The project will also include a community room with a kitchen, an office, lounge, laundry facilities, bicycle parking and other resident spaces.

The 140-room lodging house was originally built in 1899 and the redevelopment will largely focus on improvements to energy efficiency, according to planning documents filed with the city.

Current residents of the lodging house will be relocated during construction, and five of the apartments will be set aside at below-market rents for long-term tenants.

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279-283 North Harvard St., Allston

The Hill Memorial Baptist Church on North Harvard Street in Allston will be preserved as a community space connected to a new, four-story building with 49 affordable apartments for seniors making up to 60% of the area median income.

According to documents filed by the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation, the property currently houses the church and a two-story, single-family home, which will be demolished.

The basement of the former church building, built in 1903, will be used as community space. The development will also include a 2,500-square-foot courtyard and a surface parking lot with 15 spaces.

49-51 D St., South Boston

An existing brick industrial building and parking lot on D Street in South Boston will be replaced with a new, nine-story, mixed-use building with 70 apartments and about 1,970 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.

While most of the apartments will be market-rate, 12 will be income-restricted to follow the city’s inclusionary development policy. The 70 units will be made up of seven studio, 32 one-bedroom, 29 two-bedroom, and two three-bedroom apartments.

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The project will also create a landscaped public “pocket park” and add a new Bluebikes station on D Street, according to planning documents. It will include 70 indoor bicycle parking spaces for residents and about 15 visitor bicycle spaces.

691-695 Morton St., Mattapan

In Mattapan, a six-story building with 29 apartments and ground-floor retail space will be constructed on a currently vacant lot on Morton Street.

The apartments in the building will be made up of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Six will be income-restricted to follow the city’s inclusionary development policy.

According to planning documents, the project will include a roof deck for residents and a small parking garage with five spaces for vehicles and 36 bicycle spaces at the rear of the building.

Other projects approved this month

The board also approved two smaller housing projects in Brighton and East Boston.

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The first, at 434 Washington St. in Brighton, will convert a vacant single-family home in Brighton into 18 condos with ground-floor retail space facing Washington Street. Three of the units will be income-restricted. The project will also include building new accessibility ramps for nearby sidewalks.

The second project, at 944 Saratoga St., East Boston, will create a four-story building with 21 apartments on a currently vacant lot. The apartments will be a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units.

The final approval at the board’s November meeting was a two-year extension of Berklee College of Music’s 2022-2024 Institutional Master Plan, with no changes to the existing plan.



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Boston, MA

Loyola (MD) visits Boston College following Strong’s 25-point game

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Loyola (MD) visits Boston College following Strong’s 25-point game


Associated Press

Loyola (MD) Greyhounds (2-2) at Boston College Eagles (2-1)

Boston; Tuesday, 6 p.m. EST

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BOTTOM LINE: Boston College hosts Loyola (MD) after Elijah Strong scored 25 points in Boston College’s 72-69 win over the Temple Owls.

Boston College finished 20-16 overall with a 10-6 record at home during the 2023-24 season. The Eagles averaged 74.1 points per game last season, 30.8 in the paint, 12.9 off of turnovers and 6.9 on fast breaks.

Loyola (MD) went 5-13 on the road and 7-25 overall last season. The Greyhounds averaged 12.8 assists per game on 23.0 made field goals last season.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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