Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot Atlas shows off lifelike breakdancing moves

Developed in collaboration with the Robotics and AI Institute, the new fully electric Atlas can crawl on all fours, perform forward rolls, cartwheels, handstands, and even the iconic "coffee grinder" move, routines that closely mimic those of professional dancers.

These advanced motions are made possible through a combination of reinforcement learning and motion capture, according to Fox News. Human dancers perform routines in motion capture suits, with the data fed into Atlas’ AI model to help it refine and replicate the movements with precision.

The newest iteration of Atlas stands at 4 feet 11 inches (150 cm) and weighing 196 pounds (89 kg), it can reach speeds of 5.6 mph (9 km/h or approximately 2.5 meters per second). It features 28 degrees of freedom and uses advanced lidar and stereo vision sensors for environmental awareness.

Unlike its earlier hydraulic versions, the new Atlas runs on a fully electric system powered by all-electric actuators and a custom computing core, enabling greater strength, dexterity, and a range of motion that can exceed human capability.

While Boston Dynamics has not revealed the cost of Atlas, industry estimates suggest each unit costs between US$500,000 and US$1 million to produce. The robot is not for commercial sale but is leased to research partners, with estimated annual leasing costs in the six-figure range.

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group is already using the company’s Spot robots for industrial inspection and predictive maintenance, and plans to deploy Atlas robots across its factories, according to tech outlet Interesting Engineering.

The auto maker acquired Boston Dynamics from SoftBank in 2021 for US$880 million.

Earlier in April, Hyundai announced plans to purchase tens of thousands of robots and integrate Boston Dynamics’ technology into its global manufacturing strategy as part of its expanding partnership with the U.S.-based robotics firm.