Hyundai Motor Group's Atlas shines with standout performance in World Cup Round of 16 match, drawing attention

*This content was translated by AI.

On the 6th, Hyundai Motor announced that on the 5th (local time), during the halftime of the 'FIFA World Cup 2026™' Round of 16 match (Brazil vs. Norway) held at New Jersey Stadium in New York, USA, it demonstrated a performance where the humanoid robot 'Atlas' delivered the match ball.

On this day, Atlas appeared from the players' tunnel, performed celebrations alongside football stars Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Matheus Cunha, and Son Heung-min, before handing the match ball to the referee.

The Atlas deployed for this demonstration is a 'next-generation electric Atlas development model' developed by Boston Dynamics. Since its physical design was first unveiled at 'CES 2026' in January, this marks the first time it has been demonstrated live before the public. It stably performed complex actions such as delivering an official ball and exiting the field within the stadium environment.

The performance applied 'retargeting technology' that adapts human movement to the robot's structure, reinforcement learning based on simulation, and full-body control technology where all joints react simultaneously. Hyundai Motor explained that it confirmed the potential to apply core technologies developed with actual industrial site utilization in mind to various fields including sports and entertainment.

This event is part of Hyundai Motor's global brand campaign 'Next Starts Now,' which has been an official FIFA partner since 1999. Previously, Hyundai Motor had sequentially released a video titled 'School of Football' documenting Atlas's football movement learning process and the campaign's main video. On the 7th (Tuesday), it is scheduled to publicly unveil the preparation process and technical challenges of its robotics campaign in documentary format through 'The Training Ground,' a branded film co-produced with BBC.

Ji Sung-won, Executive Vice President of Hyundai Motor's Brand Marketing Division, said, "We aimed to show that the future has already begun through Atlas's performance on the World Cup stage," and added, "We will present our future mobility vision expanded through robotics as a creative brand experience."

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*This content was translated by AI.