Boston Dynamics’ humanoid Atlas hands the official match ball to a referee at the Brazil-Norway World Cup round of 16 match held at New York’s New Jersey Stadium on the 6th (local time). Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor
Hyundai Motor showcased Atlas, the humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics, at World Cup 2026.
Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) said Atlas performed a demonstration of handing the match ball to the referee during halftime of the round-of-16 match between Brazil and Norway held at the New Jersey stadium in New York on Saturday.
Atlas emerged from the player entrance tunnel just before halftime ended that day. It then successively performed Son Heung-min’s camera-click celebration, as well as celebrations by Harry Kane, Norway’s Erling Haaland, and Brazil’s Matheus Cunha, all of whom played in the match that day. Atlas then picked up the ball with a precise motion and delivered it to the referee, signaling the start of the second half.
The entire process of Atlas delivering the official match ball on the pitch and exiting is the result of combining “retargeting technology,” which reconstructs human movements to fit the robot’s body structure, with reinforcement learning based on thousands of simulations. The movements Atlas demonstrated were developed based on core capabilities premised on practical use in actual industrial settings.
“Hyundai Motor will continue to naturally connect human-centered technology with everyday life, and through diverse and creative brand experiences, present a new vision for future mobility that will expand through robotics, as well as the idea that robotics is a partner accompanying humanity’s progress,” said Ji Sung-won, Senior Vice President of Hyundai Motor’s Brand Marketing Division.
“The performance Atlas showed was realized based on AI learning technology applied to actual industrial settings, and we will continue innovating so that more people can experience the possibilities and value of advanced robotics,” said Alberto Rodriguez, Atlas Behavior Policy Lead at Boston Dynamics.
Boston Dynamics’ humanoid Atlas performs Son Heung-min’s celebration at the Brazil-Norway World Cup round of 16 match held at New York’s New Jersey Stadium on the 6th (local time). Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor