Hyundai Motor launched a new humanoid robot, planning to produce 30,000 units annually and enter the factory for car manufacturing in 2028

Boston Dynamics, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, has released its latest humanoid robot, which is planned to be put into use in Hyundai's manufacturing plants starting in 2028. This news drove Hyundai's stock price to soar by 8.4% during trading on Tuesday, reaching an all-time high.

Hyundai announced at the CES technology conference that by 2028, it will produce 30,000 Atlas humanoid robots annually at its "Metaplant" factory near Savannah, which will then be integrated into factories and warehouses around the world. The first Atlas robots will be deployed at the Savannah plant in Georgia, which currently produces electric and hybrid models such as the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9.

The latest Atlas robot is equipped with human-sized tactile sensing hands and fully rotating joints, capable of lifting up to 110 pounds (50 kilograms) and operating in temperature ranges from -4°F (-20°C) to 104°F.

The company stated that the Atlas robots will initially undertake highly repetitive tasks, such as arranging components in installation order, and by 2030, they will participate in more complex assembly work. Hyundai's Executive Chairman Chung Eui-sun emphasized in his New Year address that the company needs to embrace cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to avoid falling behind competitors.

Strategic Investment and Cooperation Layout

Hyundai established a robotics lab in 2019 and completed the acquisition of Boston Dynamics in 2021. Its robotic products, such as the quadruped robot Spot and the warehouse handling robot Stretch, have already been commercialized.

The group plans to invest 125 trillion won in South Korea over the next five years in new technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics, and an additional $26 billion investment in the United States before 2028. The U.S. investment plan announced at CES further details include the construction of a new steel plant in Louisiana and the expansion of automotive production capacity in Georgia.

At the same time, Hyundai plans to deepen its strategic cooperation with NVIDIA, leveraging its chip and platform technology to accelerate innovation and improve R&D efficiency. The two parties signed an agreement in October 2023 to jointly build a $3 billion physical artificial intelligence computing cluster in South Korea. This project has also received collaborative support from leading AI companies such as Google DeepMind and is being promoted by several affiliated companies under the Hyundai Group.

Hyundai pointed out in a statement that, "humanoid robots are expected to become the largest segment in the future physical artificial intelligence market." The company has set clear goals: to drive the Atlas series products to achieve mass production and to scale the deployment of humanoid robots that can be directly put into production operations in industrial scenarios.

Industry Competition Intensifies

The automotive manufacturing industry has always been at the forefront of automated assembly line processes, reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency and worker safety through technological innovation.

Last year, the "Iron Man" humanoid robot showcased by XPeng attracted significant market attention, and its stock price rose sharply after the release. Tesla is also continuously advancing its Optimus humanoid robot project, with Musk stating that it "is expected to become the most influential product in the company's history," estimating that it could account for 80% of Tesla's overall value in the long term. Additionally, Toyota has a strong foundation in the robotics field and has reached a collaboration with Hyundai in 2024 to accelerate the development of humanoid robots through artificial intelligence technology.

Currently, although robots are widely used in standardized scenarios such as welding and logistics, the industry is seeking key technological breakthroughs to achieve autonomous operation capabilities for robots in more complex, unstructured tasks. The rapid development of artificial intelligence, especially in perception, decision-making, and control technologies, continues to strengthen the industry's optimistic outlook for the widespread implementation and deep application of robots.

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