Boston Dynamics, the U.S. robotics subsidiary of Hyundai Motor (005380) Group, unveiled the developmental model of its Atlas humanoid robot for the first time through a YouTube Shorts video on Wednesday, local time. The developmental Atlas showcased enhanced whole-body control technology by performing a series of gymnastics movements that are difficult even for humans.
In the video, Atlas begins its gymnastics routine with a handstand. It then shifts its posture by bending its arms and swinging its feet in the opposite direction to perform a mid-air "push-up position." Next, it progresses to an "L-sit" position, supporting its body with only its hands on the floor while forming an L-shape with its body. After holding the pose for five seconds, Atlas flips itself upward and rises to a standing position.
The series of gymnastics movements demonstrated by Atlas goes beyond simple balancing or repetitive motions, requiring simultaneous precise control of the upper body, core, and arm joints. In particular, it showed the ability to support its entire body weight without wavering using both hands, which provide an extremely small contact area.
The Atlas featured in this video is a developmental model, not the research model unveiled previously. The Atlas developmental model is the one to be deployed at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), an actual manufacturing site. It maximizes efficiency in real production environments by securing autonomous learning capabilities and the flexibility to be applied in any work environment.
To emphasize that this is the first developmental model, Boston Dynamics engraved the serial number "001" on the side of Atlas's torso in the video. Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy the Atlas developmental model at HMGMA and conduct verification on a process-by-process basis.
The developmental model unveiled this time performed the gymnastics movements by applying reinforcement learning-based whole-body control technology. The reinforcement learning-based control method is an approach in which the robot autonomously learns movement and balance strategies through repeated simulations and trial and error. It is particularly advantageous for implementing more flexible motions when performing complex movements involving continuous contact state changes and posture transitions.
Boston Dynamics assessed that the video demonstrates that the technology for precisely controlling humanoid robots has reached a high level. Through this, Atlas has secured the capability to carry heavy objects and move them at actual manufacturing sites, as well as to work stably in atypical postures that humans cannot assume.
