Robotics firm Boston Dynamics introduced Monday a strategic partnership with Google’s AI analysis lab to hurry up the event of its next-generation humanoid robotic Atlas — and make it act extra human round individuals.
The partnership, which was introduced in the course of the Hyundai press convention at CES 2026, is centered on robotics analysis that can use Google DeepMind’s AI basis fashions. Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robotic Atlas would be the first take a look at case, based on Carolina Parada, senior director of robotics at Google DeepMind.
“We’re seeking to combine our cutting-edge AI basis fashions with Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas robots, and we’ll goal to develop the world’s most superior robotic basis mannequin to satisfy the promise of true general-purpose human wants,” Parada stated on stage.
The tie-up comes lower than a yr after the Google AI analysis lab introduced new AI fashions known as Gemini Robotics which might be designed to permit robots to understand, purpose, use instruments, and work together with people. Gemini Robotics is predicated on a large-scale multimodal generative AI mannequin, Gemini. On the time, Google DeepMind stated the robotics AI mannequin was skilled to generalize conduct throughout a spread of various robotics {hardware}.
Enter Boston Dynamics, and its majority proprietor, Hyundai Motor Group. Whereas accelerating analysis can be a central piece of this partnership, this has real-world scaling intent.
Boston Dynamics already has merchandise, just like the quadruped Spot, which might be in prospects’ arms in additional than 40 international locations. Its warehouse robotic Stretch has unloaded greater than 20 million containers globally since its launch in 2023, based on Hyundai. Now Boston Dynamics and Hyundai are making ready for the subsequent era, beginning with the humanoid robotic Atlas, which the corporate introduced Monday is already in manufacturing and headed to a Hyundai manufacturing unit.
A prototype of Atlas walked on stage in the course of the press convention, exhibiting off its capability to maneuver. However as Alberto Rodriguez, director of Atlas conduct at Boston Dynamics, famous, making “Atlas right into a product requires greater than athletic efficiency for humanoids to actually ship on their promise. They’ve to have the ability to work together with individuals naturally.”
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Rodriguez and his counterparts at Boston Dynamics consider that latest developments in AI have created a transparent path to get to these capabilities.
