alt Hacker NewsHyundai Introduces Its Next-Gen Atlas Robot at CES 2026 [video]
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The comments here are focusing on the "awkward transition" from dancing to static, but that's the most honest part of the demo.
We’ve been spoiled by 10 years of highly choreographed, multi-take Boston Dynamics sizzle reels. What we just saw was the transition from R&D Showpiece to Factory Tool.
The "awkwardness" is what actual deployment looks like.
It’s electric (no hydraulic leaks).
It has 56 DoF (redundancy for complex assembly).
It’s being deployed in Georgia now, not in "3 months maybe."
Tesla is shipping Optimus Sub-Primes. Hyundai is shipping a boring, reliable, high-torque worker. I’ll take the boring static model that actually has a spec sheet over another backflip video any day.
The "creepiness" isn't a bug; it's a conflict of expectations.
We are looking at a machine that mimics the human form (bipedal, two arms) but completely ignores Biological Constraints (tendons, ligaments, joint limits).
When it rotates 180 degrees at the waist, our brains trigger a "Body Horror" response because we subconsciously map our own anatomy onto it. We see a broken spine. The robot just sees a shorter path.
This is purely Unconstrained Kinematics. Hyundai isn't trying to build a "Better Human." They are building a "Bipedal Forklift" that just happens to fit through our doorframes.
It’s a tool. Let’s stop judging it like it’s supposed to be one of us.
Whoever approved making a robot look like it is about to dance before awkwardly panning to a "static" model should not be making those decisions. It literally killed the vibe in the room. People went from the verge of freaking out to the biggest let down ever that it ruined whatever they said afterwards.
This is real world footage ("60 Minutes" material, video from yesterday), non choreographed Boston Dynamics robots from Hyundai factory:
"It can totally control itself, but we're gonna have a human control it"
also
"the next version is totally ready, but here's a full-size model"
Battery factory's in china are using wheeled robots. https://cnevpost.com/2025/12/18/catl-launches-humanoid-robot...
Why does it needs bipedal legs on a flat factory floor, does it need them to walk up the bus steps it takes to get to it's second story walk up apartment where it lives w/ its robot family?
What will it cost though? They keep talking industrial, I guess it will be very expensive. You would hope that a company like Hyundai can mass produce these things for a sane price really.
The robot companies are all get closer, but I don't think a humanoid robot will do anything at a cheaper cost than an actual human in 2026. It definitely looks like there is a path though.
Wonder how much this would cost out the door. If figure’s optimistic target is 150k per robot after mass manufacturing. This level of dexterity is only needed for personal robots. I would love this to be sub 10k
Will the winner in the humanoid robot game be the one that develops the most human like hands? A good test would be a robot that can thread a needle and sew on a button.
Interesting the Atlas robot can only operate from -4 to 104⁰ F. That upper limit is pretty weak, I wonder what starts to break or not work properly at 110⁰ F?
I still believe it was a very bad idea that google sold of BD
that's a very impressive demo, I have never seen a robot move so smoothly before.
The way it stands up is so cursed but I find its face really charming.
It looks cool, I'm wondering about the hands though. Human hands have a ton of dexterity and Atlas looks like it might be pretty fat fingered.
The new leg design is interesting - it's quite a change to have one segment out of line with the others; and unlike any natural leg ??
Can't help but thinking of hotdog fingers scene in "Everything Everywhere All At Once"
I wonder if this will cause new legislation to be created, and new government bodies like the FDA. If this becomes available to many homes, what is to stop a hacker from programming this humanoid to kill its owners?
Fun to watch the joints reverse in unnatural ways.
Related:
Boston Dynamics and DeepMind form new AI partnership
Neat!
...We are going to have to fight against it at some point, will we ?
Tough week for Tesla. Nvidia is about to ship a competitive self-driving solution and Hyundai is putting a useful humanoid robot into production.
What claim will Elon make next to defend the stock price?