Boston Dynamics says humanoid robots must learn new tasks within 48 hours

Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter told Business Insider that Atlas must be able to learn a new task in a day or two for factory use, and the company aims to reach deployment milestones within two years while working with Google DeepMind and Hyundai's planned 2028 rollout.

Boston Dynamics is preparing its Atlas humanoid robot for limited factory use within two years. CEO Robert Playter said at the Consumer Electronics Show that Atlas will need to learn new tasks in a day or two to be practical on a production floor. Hyundai plans to deploy Atlas at its Ellabell, Georgia, factory by 2028. The company announced a partnership with Google DeepMind to advance the AI and improve reliability. Key details: - Atlas is a six-foot, 200-pound bipedal robot that Boston Dynamics hopes to use in Hyundai's factories. - Playter said the robot must be able to learn a new task within a day or two because factory tasks are numerous and evolve. - Hyundai revealed plans to deploy Atlas at its Ellabell, Georgia, plant by 2028. - Boston Dynamics announced a partnership with Google DeepMind to develop AI capabilities for fast learning and reasoning. - The company aims for very high operational reliability, cited as 99.9% in Playter's remarks. - Initial work for Atlas at the plant is expected to focus on logistics tasks such as parts sequencing, with assembly tasks to follow as capabilities evolve. Summary: Boston Dynamics links deployment to improvements in AI-driven learning, reasoning, and reliability, and plans to start with simpler logistics tasks before moving toward assembly work. Hyundai's deployment timeline and the partnership with DeepMind are presented as part of the path toward those capabilities. Undetermined at this time.