Boston Dynamics’ new all-electric Atlas has officially broken free from the confines of the lab, making its public debut at CES with some frankly jaw-dropping new specs. This isn’t just a prototype; the production model can hoist a hefty 50 kg (that’s 110 pounds, for those still clinging to imperial), boasts joints that spin a full 360 degrees – lending it an almost supernaturally fluid, even slightly unsettling, grace – and can keep the gears grinding for four hours before dexterously hot-swapping its own power packs without so much as a whimper.
But the real mic drop wasn’t the robot itself, as impressive as it is. Oh no. That honour goes to its corporate overlords at Hyundai, who, with a flourish, announced plans to erect a brand-spanking-new factory designed to churn out a mind-boggling 30,000 Atlas units every single year. Talk about scale! It seems the future of industrial automation isn’t just taking its first tentative steps; it’s being mass-produced with the efficiency of a car assembly line, ready to conquer the world, one perfectly articulated, battery-swapping step at a time.
