Hyundai’s Atlas humanoid wins top honor at US tech show for factory ready robot
In January, Hyundai Motor Group's humanoid robot, Atlas, won the Best Robot award at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, a pivotal moment in the transition of humanoid robotics from laboratory experiments to practical industrial applications.
The award, from CNET an official partner of CES was announced Thursday and named Atlas the best robotic innovation among competition like Jackery's Solar Mars Bot and Beatbot's RoboTurtle. It reflects growing industry confidence that humanoid robots are ready to make the leap from demonstration projects to real factory work.
Why Atlas Impressed Judges
CNET called Atlas "a marvel of surprisingly lifelike walking ability and polished industrial design," adding that the robot is a "practical vision of human centered artificial intelligence, not just some concept piece." Unlike many humanoid robots at the event, Atlas did not show up with some vague promise of deployment six years down the line.
"Of all of the humanoid robots to make their debut at CES 2026, it's Boston Dynamics' Atlas that stands out as the best of the bunch," CNET said, noting: "The machine is already approaching industrial readiness with deployments at Hyundai manufacturing facilities set to start this year."
Designed for harsh factory conditions
Atlas has a total of 56 degrees of freedom. This simply means that Atlas has a total of 56 joints, and they can be acted upon separately so that it can move in a human like manner. Atlas has joints with an overall freedom of motion so that it can move into any small space with ease. The hands of the Atlas Robot possess a human like feature. The hands of Atlas possess touch sensors.
The strength of the robot will be able to lift a mass of 110 pounds while performing complex operations. The robot will have the capability to operate alone among the complex environments that are present in the factory setting. Atlas has the capability to operate in environments that are either hot or cold; that is, the environments range from -4°F to 104°F.
It will also be water resistant. This will help protect the robot from water splashes that may occur in the factory setting.
Robotics and Automation of the System
Not all robots that are used in industrial processes today are created entirely by the United
The robotics subsidiary’s head in the United States, Robert Playter, commented, “Winning the Best Of award in the category of robotics is a great recognition for Boston Dynamics. The Atlas robot we unveiled is the best we have developed, and it shows our commitment to getting a world class humanoid robot as soon as possible.”
Rollout strategy of Hyundai
The global automaker group will start using Atlas in 2028 at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, located in Savannah, Georgia, while assembling the company’s new electric vehicles, the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9.
Prima facie roles will be involved in activities such as sorting, sequencing, and material handling in the production process. Human supervisors will oversee the first implementations. Training an Atlas robot for a given task normally takes a day or two.
It is anticipated that by the year 2030, Atlas will assume more complex tasks, some of which include repetitive assembly and heavy load assembly.
Scaling robots with cars
The company is putting its money behind its humanoid dreams. It is constructing a new robotics factory in the United States as a part of a $26 billion capital expenditure plan from 2025.
This plant is expected to produce as many as 30,000 units of robots per annum in and by the year 2028. There is also an Robotics Metaplant Application Center that is to open in 2026.
Hyundai related companies and partners are very important. These include Hyundai Mobis, for core components, Hyundai Glovis for logistics, NVIDIA for simulation technology, and Google DeepMind for AI.
For live updates, in depth coverage, and all major developments related to CES 2026, click on the link below for the coverage by the IE Team.
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