Boston Dynamics is unveiling its remarkable humanoid robot Atlas at CES 2026 in Las Vegas this week, and footage of the autonomous machine at a reveal event might make your jaw drop south.
The Massachusetts-based company has been working on Atlas for years, gradually improving his mobility and dexterity. And as AI technology has made impressive progress in recent years, the robot’s decision-making abilities have also become more sophisticated.
In the latest version, shown in the video at the top of this page, Atlas takes the stage in a very natural, human-like manner.
“We partnered with our sister organization, the Robotics and AI Institute, to push the boundaries of natural walking alone for this performance, and I think we accomplished something very special,” said Zachary Jackowski, Boston Dynamics vice president and general manager of Atlas, who stood alongside Atlas on stage.
Although its ability to walk naturally is impressive, the robot needs to do a lot more if it is ever to become an important part of the workplace in warehouses and factories. And sure enough, during the demonstration, Atlas begins moving his body and his three-fingered grippers in countless ways and with astonishing fluidity, suggesting that the robot could soon be ready for prime time.
“Atlas has joints that can move 360 degrees,” Jackowski said. “This allows Atlas to move even more efficiently than humans, especially in manufacturing environments where every second counts.”
Boston Dynamics also said Atlas will help assemble cars in the coming years at a U.S. plant operated by Hyundai, the tech company’s main backer.
There is also a partnership with Google’s DeepMind AI research lab to further improve the robot’s ability to process information and make decisions.
This week’s stage performance was a far cry from 2017’s, when a much simpler version of Atlas strolled around the stage before stumbling and disappearing from view. That caused a lot of laughter at the time. But now no one is laughing anymore.
