Boston Dynamics Teams Up with Google DeepMind for New Humanoid Robot Atlas
Boston Dynamics is partnering with Google DeepMind to develop a next-gen humanoid robot called Atlas, aiming for advanced human-like interactions.
Boston: Robotics company Boston Dynamics announced a new partnership with Google’s AI lab. This will help speed up making their next humanoid robot, Atlas. They want Atlas to act more human around people.
The partnership was revealed during a press event by Hyundai at CES 2026. It will focus on using AI models from Google DeepMind. Carolina Parada, a leader at Google DeepMind, said Atlas will be their first test robot.
Parada explained, “We’re going to use our top-notch AI models with Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas robots. We want to create the best robot that can meet human needs.” This tie-up comes just after Google DeepMind shared new AI models called Gemini Robotics. These models help robots see, think, use tools, and interact with people better.
Boston Dynamics, owned by Hyundai Motor Group, has real-world goals for this partnership. The company has products out, like the Spot robot, now used in over 40 countries. Their warehouse robot, Stretch, has already unloaded over 20 million boxes since 2023, according to Hyundai.
Boston Dynamics is now working on the humanoid robot Atlas, which is currently in production and set for a Hyundai factory. At the press event, a prototype of Atlas walked on stage, showing how well it can move. However, Alberto Rodriguez, who leads Atlas behavior at Boston Dynamics, said that making Atlas a successful product needs more than just movement. It must also interact naturally with people.
Rodriguez and the team at Boston Dynamics believe that recent AI breakthroughs provide a great opportunity to achieve these abilities.