Hyundai robot Atlas performs at World Cup
· UPIJuly 8 (Asia Today) -- Atlas, a humanoid robot developed by Hyundai Motor Group robotics affiliate Boston Dynamics, performed at halftime of a World Cup match for the first time in tournament history, Hyundai said Wednesday.
The robot appeared Sunday during a World Cup round-of-16 match at New York New Jersey Stadium in New Jersey, where it performed goal celebrations by soccer players and waved to the crowd.
Atlas also drew attention by delivering a soccer ball to the referee, making the robot's appearance one of the most talked-about moments of the match.
Major foreign media outlets gave the performance favorable coverage.
Fortune, a U.S. business magazine, said Atlas' halftime appearance marked an unprecedented moment in World Cup history. The magazine also noted the development of next-generation humanoid technology that can learn independently and adapt to different environments, unlike conventional industrial robots based mainly on programmed tasks.
Bloomberg reported that Hyundai Motor Group publicly demonstrated Atlas on the global stage of the World Cup as the company continues to show progress in robotics technology ahead of planned factory deployment.
The appearance highlighted growing global attention on the development of humanoid robots and their potential use beyond research labs and industrial settings.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260708010003133