In April 2024 Boston Dynamics announced the retirement of its hydraulic Atlas robot and unveiled what it called “a fully electric Atlas robot designed for real-world applications.” The hydraulic Atlas had been the company’s research showpiece for more than a decade, famous for backflips and parkour, but it was a laboratory machine. The new Atlas is powered by batteries and electric actuators with no hydraulics, which Boston Dynamics says makes it cleaner, quieter, and more suitable for deployment in workplaces.
The company described the electric Atlas as “stronger, with a broader range of motion than any of our previous generations.” Rather than copying a human’s range of motion, its joints are designed to rotate in ways people cannot, so the robot can move in whatever way is most efficient to complete a task. Boston Dynamics positioned the machine as the product of over a decade of humanoid research now aimed at commercialization, integrating its Orbit software platform along with AI, machine learning, and computer vision.
The rollout begins with Hyundai, Boston Dynamics’ owner, which is both investing in the program and providing automotive manufacturing facilities where Atlas applications will be tested and refined. Boston Dynamics said it would work with a small group of early customers, beginning with Hyundai, over the following years.
For a general reader, the switch from hydraulics to electric actuation marks the moment a famous research robot turned into a candidate for actual factory work, and signals how seriously large manufacturers are taking humanoid labor.