SOMERSAULTING ROBOT

The year saw all sorts of cool new robots, from Peeqo, a bot that communicates using GIFs, to the adorable companion robot Kuri. But the most impressive bot of 2017 was an improved version of Atlas, a humanoid robot first developed by Boston Dynamics in 2013. In November, the company released a dramatic video showing Atlas performing a series of increasingly difficult box jumps, ending with an impressive finale: a perfectly executed backflip.

 Atlas keeps its balance when jostled or pushed and can get up if it tips over.Boston Dynamics

But don’t worry: Atlas isn’t designed to compete against humans in the gym, but to carry out search and rescue missions and perform tasks deemed too dangerous for humans.

GREAT PYRAMID SECRET REVEALED

Scientists in Egypt announced in November that they had detected a previously unknown “void” inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was the first time since the 19th century that a major interior structure was found within the 4,500-year-old pyramid, which is located along the Nile River a few miles from Cairo, Egypt.

 This 3D view shows the hidden structure inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. ScanPyramids Via AFP - Getty Images

To make the discovery, the archaeologists used special detectors that “see” high-energy subatomic particles called muons. The same technology may make it possible to find hidden features in other archaeological features.

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