Boston Dynamics uses a wheeled Atlas to test sim-to-real robustness

What is changing?

Boston Dynamics replaced Atlas’s feet with wheels to test a whole-body reinforcement-learning controller at the edge of the robot’s actuator envelope. The company explicitly says this is not a new product. The wheels keep the motors operating across high torque and speed during launches, turns, and stops. The conversion used a single custom adapter to attach an off-the-shelf scooter rim to the existing ankle actuator.

In software, each wheel was modeled as an ankle that can rotate continuously. After matching the simulated motor behavior to measured hardware, the policy transferred to the physical robot and learned to use the wheels during moves such as side dashes. The team plans to carry the lessons back to the standard Atlas configuration and to policies that respond more robustly to failed actuators.