'We Can't Fall Behind in Robotics'... Hyundai Motor Group's Humanoid 'Atlas' Takes the Stage

[Korea Financial Times, Kim JaeHun] Hyundai Motor Group's humanoid robot 'Atlas,' identified as a key future technology, is finally set to make its appearance. As concerns deepen that the company has been falling behind competitors like Tesla in future technology competitiveness, attention is focused on whether it can gain an edge in the race to commercialize robots.

According to Hyundai Motor Company on the 24th, the group will announce its AI robotics ecosystem expansion strategy at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, USA, on January 5 next year, and conduct the first physical demonstration of Boston Dynamics' next-generation electric humanoid robot Atlas.

Atlas, which will be unveiled for the first time that day, is a humanoid robot being developed by Boston Dynamics, Hyundai Motor Group's robotics specialist affiliate. Atlas is the only humanoid that a Korean company is publicly demonstrating as a concrete physical prototype.
Atlas is characterized by its ability to make human-like judgments and move naturally, thanks to the Large Behavior Model (LBM) jointly developed by Boston Dynamics and the Toyota Research Institute (TRI).

In a previously released Atlas demonstration video, the robot performed movements using its entire body, such as walking, crouching, and lifting objects to carry out tasks like sorting and arranging parts.


A notable feature is its ability to solve problems autonomously. While Atlas was performing a task of moving parts from one box to another, a researcher interfered with the work by closing the parts box lid or dropping parts beside the box, but Atlas flawlessly opened the lid and picked up the fallen parts, placing them accurately in the box.

Hyundai Motor Group is deploying Atlas at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) factory to begin full-scale demonstration for commercialization. The plan is to gradually expand to external clients, starting with the group's own business entities.
Through this, the group aims to establish itself as a comprehensive solution provider that integrates management across the entire value chain including AI robotics, parts, logistics, and software, encompassing everything from robot development to learning and operation. The recent additional investment of approximately USD 5 billion (approximately KRW 7 trillion) was also intended to advance the robotics ecosystem.

As Hyundai Motor Group materializes its robot business, which it has selected as a future growth driver through Atlas, attention is focusing on future technology competition.

Humanoid robots, the form of robot closest to humans, have high utility across various industries such as manufacturing and logistics. They are a promising business expected to become most closely integrated into human life in the more distant future. Not only Hyundai Motor but also various global companies including Samsung Electronics, Tesla, and Nvidia are competing for commercialization.



Hyundai Motor Group's biggest competitor is undoubtedly Tesla. Tesla is accelerating full-scale commercialization by unveiling plans to mass-produce its humanoid robot 'Optimus.'

Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, recently expressed confidence on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "Tesla's main business is not electric vehicles but the humanoid robot Optimus," and "In the long term, 80% of Tesla's value will come from Optimus."

From Hyundai Motor Group's perspective, it must engage in technology competition with Tesla not only in electric vehicles and autonomous driving but also in robotics. In particular, recent concerns have emerged that the group is falling behind in future technology capabilities, as Tesla has demonstrated Level 3 autonomous driving FSD ahead of Hyundai Motor Group.

Especially, robotics is the future growth driver that Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, emphasizes most. Chairman Chung directly led the acquisition of Boston Dynamics, which is developing Atlas, for the sake of future business competitiveness.

Chairman Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group has revealed a mid- to long-term vision, stating, "The future of manufacturing lies in the collaboration between people and machines," and "We will generate 20% of the group's total revenue from the robotics sector."

Kim JaeHun (rlqm93@fntimes.com)