Hyundai subsidiary Boston Dynamics unveiled the brand new Atlas humanoid robotic at CES 2026 in early January. The Atlas robotic announcement was a focus of Hyundai’s CES occasion. The carmaker additionally revealed that its Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Savannah, Georgia, will make use of a fleet of Atlas robots beginning in 2028. The humanoid robotic is already seen as a menace by Hyundai Motor’s union, which believes “employment shocks” will comply with the introduction of humanoid robots into the workforce. In response to Reuters, the union warned the automaker to not deploy Atlas to Hyundai factories with out union approval. Korea JoongAng Each day reported that union leaders additionally criticized the preliminary investor pleasure across the Atlas information.
It is unclear what number of Atlas robots can be used on the Georgia manufacturing unit in 2028, however Boston Dynamics stated final April that Hyundai would deploy tens of hundreds of robots in its factories. In August, Hyundai introduced it will make investments $26 billion within the U.S. by 2028, together with a robotics manufacturing unit able to manufacturing 30,000 robots per yr. At CES, Hyundai talked about that determine in reference to the Atlas humanoid robotic announcement, however the carmaker stated the robotics plant might be arrange by 2028. The preliminary fleet of Atlas robots might be produced at Boston Dynamics’s Boston headquarters, with the 2026 capability reserved for Hyundai’s Robotics Metaplant Software Middle (RMAC) and Google DeepMind. The latter is a brand new strategic associate for Boston Dynamics and Hyundai, having developed its personal Gemini AI fashions for robots.
Will Atlas exchange human staff?
It is unclear from Hyundai’s bulletins to this point whether or not the Atlas robots will exchange people. The corporate stated that Atlas will solely deal with components sequencing in 2028. By 2030, Hyundai intends to maneuver Atlas to element meeting. The humanoid robots may also “tackle duties involving repetitive motions, heavy hundreds, and different advanced operations.” Past that, Hyundai could scale the adoption of Atlas robots, relying on their preliminary efficiency.
The Hyundai union fears that robots would assist Hyundai lower labor prices. believing that Atlas robots may work with out interruption, requiring solely upkeep prices. In response to Korea JoongAng Each day, the union steered a situation the place Hyundai must rent three folks to match the 24-hour schedule of a humanoid. At a median wage of 100 million gained ($68,000), Hyundai must spend 300 million gained to cowl three shifts. It is unclear how a lot one Atlas will value or what the upkeep and vitality prices would quantity to.
The Boston Dynamics humanoid robotic made for Hyundai factories could have satisfied traders, but it surely has limitations. The robotic is tall (6.2 toes) and heavy (198 kilos). It could actually function for about 4 hours, thanks to 2 battery packs put in in its torso. The Atlas can swap out its personal batteries in about three minutes, with spent batteries recharging in about an hour and a half. Battery life drops to 2 hours for duties involving steady heavy lifting. Power will not be the one potential downside, as Atlas may have superior AI to know context and environment to securely replicate the advanced workflows of people on manufacturing strains.
