Boston Dynamics’ Atlas is headed for real work in Hyundai’s car factories

Hyundai Motor Group is advancing the deployment of Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot from research prototypes to real-world manufacturing applications, starting at its Metaplant America facility in Savannah, Georgia. Unveiled at CES 2026, Atlas is designed as a general-purpose humanoid robot built to operate safely and reliably alongside human workers within existing factory environments, without requiring new infrastructure. Equipped with advanced AI, tactile sensing, and 56 degrees of freedom, Atlas can perform tasks such as material sequencing, assembly, and machine tending autonomously, with rapid training times of under a day for most tasks and continuous operation capabilities including automatic battery replacement. This move is part of Hyundai’s broader AI Robotics Strategy focused on “human-centered Physical AI,” which integrates Boston Dynamics’ robotic platforms with Hyundai’s manufacturing scale and factory data to improve safety and efficiency. Hyundai has already deployed other Boston Dynamics robots like Spot and Stretch globally for inspection, safety monitoring, and warehouse logistics. The company expects humanoid robots to become the