Hot on the heels of retiring its original Atlas humanoid robot, Boston Dynamics has unveiled its successor: the Electric Atlas.

Boston Dynamics unveiled the new Atlas in a YouTube video that opens with the robot lying on the ground. The robot is able to rotate its head and legs in the opposite direction, allowing it to leverage itself to a standing position. In the brief video, the robot shows an impressive range of motion, far beyond what its predecessor was capable of.

The new Atlas is far more svelte than the original design. In combination with its ability to rotate its legs and head to move in different directions, the robot will not doubt be far more nimble than the original design.

Boston Dynamics touts the robot’s flexibility as a pivotal feature, in combination with improved strength over the previous model.

The electric version of Atlas will be stronger, with a broader range of motion than any of our previous generations. For example, our last generation hydraulic Atlas (HD Atlas) could already lift and maneuver a wide variety of heavy, irregular objects; we are continuing to build on those existing capabilities and are exploring several new gripper variations to meet a diverse set of expected manipulation needs in customer environments.

The company says it is using the humanoid form factor to help the robot work well “in a world designed for people,” but that a bipedal design does not limit the robot’s function.

However, that form factor doesn’t limit our vision of how a bipedal robot can move, what tools it needs to succeed, and how it can help people accomplish more. We designed the electric version of Atlas to be stronger, more dexterous, and more agile. Atlas may resemble a human form factor, but we are equipping the robot to move in the most efficient way possible to complete a task, rather than being constrained by a human range of motion. Atlas will move in ways that exceed human capabilities. Combining decades of practical experience with first principles thinking, we are confident in our ability to deliver a robot uniquely capable of tackling dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks in real applications.

Electric Atlas already looks to be an impressive upgrade over the original. It will be interesting to watch its journey as Boston Dynamics continues to improve it.