ATLAS and P-body

"These next tests require co-operation. Consequently, they have never been solved by a human. That's where you come in. You don't know pride, you don't know fear, you don't know anything. You'll be perfect."

- GLaDOS

ATLAS and P-body, referred to as Blue and Orange by GLaDOS, are a pair of bipedal robots slated to appear in Portal 2’s co-operative campaign. They have been created by GLaDOS to complete the most complex tests in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center, uncompleted by any human.

Background


ATLAS and P-body were created by GLaDOS after the events of Portal, where she had gained a mistrust for humans. However she determined that the act of experimenting on and observing the results of robots performing various tests, as a robot herself, was fundamentally flawed, which is likened to the famous thought experiment of Schrödinger's cat. In other words, she determined that for the tests to actually mean anything, it needed a human observer. To add that human element then, she needed to find a way for the robots to become more human-like to the point where they were human enough so that results could be driven from the tests.

Co-operatives tests were then set up in a total of 35 Test Chambers. They involve the standard teleportation/puzzle tests, and sending the robots to the ruined parts of the Aperture Laboratories in search of human relics to puzzle together, so that they can learn to become more human, and even learn how to love.

Portal 2
As the experiment goes, the robots are expected to start developing more human attitudes and personalities of their own, going far beyond the ability to complete the standard teleportation/puzzle tests. It is unknown so far to what this humanization will lead, and if the results will be as expected by GLaDOS.

Appearance
The robots were design from scraps. ATLAS design was based on a Personality Core, while P-body was based on an Sentry Gun. To facilitate their humanization, they were given their own personalities, and clearly anthropomorphic designs and behaviors. For instance, gender-related personalities have been applied to them, with ATLAS being masculine, and P-body feminine.

Each robot has its own Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device that bears the color of its user (blue for ATLAS, orange for P-body), as two lines running along the barrel. They also have the capacity to transport through the portals created by the other, and respawn through Vital Apparatus Vents each time they are destroyed. Duplicate robots are constantly rebuilt in automatic machines, apparently keeping the memories and behavior of the previous incarnations.

Personality and skills
As said above, the robots were designed with anthropomorphic personalities to facilitate their humanization. These personalities are expected to develop during the course of the game.

Examples of anthropomorphism go from simple to complex behaviors. For instance, they make gestures to each other to indicate the other what to do or where to go, use some form of speech embodied by an apparently unintelligible robotic chatter, use portals for fun and not only for testing, use some form of laughter, play rock-paper-scissors, or hug each other. Co-operative work also requires them to trust each other, and they also undergo tests for that purpose, and eventually will tend to develop a tendency to betray each other like humans would do, and in the end trust each other only 6 seconds longer than humans.

Behind the scenes



 * ATLAS and P-body were first introduced during the Portal ARG, in one of the ASCII art images given by the BBS. In that image, actually concept art for Portal 2, ATLAS is holding an Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, and they hold each other's hands (this gesture is apparently a sign of innocence more than an indication of romance between the two, and also refers to the co-op mode ).


 * Their second appearance is at the very start of the "Portal is Free" video promoting Portal being free from May 12 to May 24, 2010, where they can be seen within the isometric offices in a small room on the bottom right. They then appeared in a teaser for the co-op mode of Portal 2 shown at Gamescom 2010, in a dramatized version of an example of co-op gameplay, where ATLAS elbows P-body so that it subjects itself to ATLAS's portal to be sent thanks to momentum to a button located beyond a trap and allowing the completion of the Test Chamber. In the video, they appear to use some form of speech, consisting of computer-like sounds. They then appeared in the full version of the co-op trailer and other variants of it, and weekly videos leading up to Portal 2's release, such as a TV spot, Aperture Investment Opportunity #1: "Panels", and Aperture Investment Opportunity #2: "Bot Trust".


 * Originally, the two Portal 2 co-op characters were to be human females, one being named Mel, the other being Chell. They were replaced by robots when it was noted that playtesters tended to die a lot, thus creating an in-universe reason for the constant respawning.


 * As seen in other concept art images, the two robots have come through several other iterations, including color variants, and more humanoid appearances. As seen in more recent concept art, they also originally both had a red eye, later changed to blue and orange for ATLAS and P-body, respectively.


 * When the website ApertureScience.com was updated for Portal 2, the Garden Gnome from the alternate Christmas video was replaced by a nervous P-body.


 * The robot names are apparently a reference to their body shapes, though this has not been confirmed yet. ATLAS may be related to the Titan of the same name, which is often represented as supporting Earth on his back, a sphere like ATLAS's body. "ATLAS" being written in caps, this may also be an acronym of a currently unknown significance. P-body may be a pun on "pea body", the robot's body resembling a pea pod.

Trivia

 * The masculine robotic voice heard during the retconned end of Portal is unrelated to these robots, as it is the voice of the Party Escort Bot, originally planned to appear at that point, but removed from Portal's original release.


 * ATLAS and P-body are also unrelated to the Military Android mentioned in Portal, as they are built from spare parts, and appear several hundred years after the first game.

List of appearances

 * Portal ARG
 * Portal 2
 * ApertureScience.com