Boston Dynamics has released a new video showcasing the capabilities of their humanoid robot Atlas. The one-minute-long YouTube video is set within a mock-up construction site, with Atlas seen assisting a human construction worker on scaffolding.

Playfully titled ‘Atlas Gets a Grip,’ the video shows Atlas moving a timber plank around the mock-up site before picking up a tool bag to toss up to a construction worker on an elevated single-story scaffolding platform. As with past Boston Dynamic videos, Atlas ends the sequence in style by performing a backflip off a wooden crate.

Video via Boston Dynamics on YouTube

Entertainment value aside, the video offers an insight into the evolving capabilities of Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot and its ability to manipulate the world around it. By interacting with objects and modifying its surroundings in pursuit of a defined goal, the company seeks to demonstrate the evolving ability of robots to assist in heavy-duty human tasks, including complex scenarios such as construction sites.

“We’re not just thinking about how to make the robot move dynamically through its environment like we did in Parkour and Dance,” said team lead Scott Kuindersma in a separate behind-the-scenes video. “Now, we’re starting to put Atlas to work and think about how the robot should be able to perceive and manipulate objects in its environment.”

Despite the crisp nature of Atlas’ latest performance, Boston Dynamics points out that the technology is still a “long way off” market readiness. As The Verge notes in their reflection on the video, the latest scenario was likely rigorously planned and structured, with errors by the robot edited out.

While Atlas is still in its development phase, Boston Dynamics’ ‘robot dog’ Spot is already being used in the construction industry by companies including Foster + Partners. On their website, Boston Dynamics sets out a range of uses for Spot on construction sites, including site progress monitoring through autonomous 360-degree images and videos, BIM model comparisons through the use of a laser scanner, digital twin creation, and worker health and safety.

“The dream of humanoids is that they should be able to do all the things that we do, right?” Kuindersma continues. “A humanoid robot will be well suited for applications like manufacturing, factory work, constructions — where a humanoid form factor actually fits very well, with its bi-manual nature, its ability to stand upright, move heavy things around, and work in spaces that were traditionally designed for humans to do work in.”