Boston Dynamics unveils production electric Atlas at CES; Hyundai plans 30,000-robot/yr factory

Description by Gemini, which watched the video:

Summary
At CES, Boston Dynamics and Hyundai Motor Group unveil the new electric Atlas humanoid robot. Presented by Boston Dynamics leadership (including Zach Jackowski), the presentation features a live stage demonstration of an Atlas research prototype alongside the unveiling of the production-generation Atlas hardware specifications and manufacturing deployment plans.

What is shown

• [00:10 - 00:22] Screen footage showing previous hydraulic and electric Atlas testing in the laboratory.
• [00:38 - 01:35] Live on-stage demonstration: An Atlas prototype lying on its back stands up using joint rotation, walks smoothly across the stage, and waves to the crowd while teleoperated with simple directional inputs by a field applications engineer.
• [01:49 - 02:18] The on-stage Atlas demonstrates continuous 360-degree joint articulation in its torso, arms, and neck while performing movement sequences.
• [03:25 - 03:51] A static hardware display unit of the new production-spec Atlas model is wheeled out onto the stage.
• [03:55 - 05:15] On-screen technical breakdown of the product generation's design, including 360-degree head cameras, human-scale tactile hands, dual swappable battery bay, and the Orbit fleet learning network.
• [05:45 - 06:46] Announcement of production ramp-up, deployment testing at Hyundai Metaplant America, and plans for a dedicated manufacturing facility.

Claims & numbers

• Development & field testing: The presenter states Boston Dynamics has worked on humanoids for over a decade and recently tested Atlas performing autonomous material handling tasks at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.
• Degrees of freedom: The product-generation Atlas has 56 degrees of freedom, primarily using fully rotational joints.
• Payload & reach: The presenter claims the robot can lift up to 110 pounds (approx. 50 kg) and reach up to 7.5 feet high.
• Environmental tolerance: Designed to be water-resistant (washdown capable) and operate at full capability between -4°F and 104°F (-20°C to 40°C).
• Battery & runtime: Runs for approximately 4 hours on dual swappable batteries and can navigate autonomously to recharge/swap its own batteries.
• Training time: Most tasks can be trained via foundation models and Orbit software in less than a day.
• Production timeline & capacity: The presenter states the entire 2026 production supply from their Boston headquarters is already allocated to Hyundai Motor Group and an unnamed AI partner; commercial sales will expand to new customers in 2027; and Hyundai is building a factory capable of producing 30,000 Atlas robots per year.

Notable quotes

• [00:23] "So for the first time ever in public, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Atlas to the stage."
• [01:45] "And we've learned that there's more to it than just copying nature. We can pick the best parts of what nature has to offer and do better in others."
• [06:38] "Together, we are building a new robotics factory capable of producing 30,000 Atlas robots a year."

Assessment
This is an official keynote launch and live stage demonstration presented jointly by Hyundai and Boston Dynamics at CES. The walking, standing, and waving movements were performed live on stage by a piloted prototype, whereas the commercial version was shown only as a static display model with capabilities (battery life, heavy lifting, factory production) presented via pre-rendered slides and video footage.

Described by gemini-3.8-flash on 2026-09-29 from the video's audio and frames.