Atlas shrugged: Boston Dynamics retires its hydraulic humanoid robot

Now that humanoids are all the rage in the robotics industry, Boston Dynamics on Tuesday officially retired theirs. The Hyundai-owned firm has always marched to the beat of its own drummer. Even so, it’s an odd decision as funding pours into the category by the hundreds of millions. Venturing an educated guess, I would say that today’s Atlas retirement is less about endings than new beginnings. Most likely, the hulking humanoid is gracefully stepping out of the way of whatever is coming next for the firm. Boston Dynamics has been...