Atlas Robot Showcases Skills With World Cup Celebrations
WHO:
Interesting Engineering - The humanoid robot Atlas is developed by Boston Dynamics, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor.
Interesting Engineering - Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Matheus Cunha, and Son Heung-min are international football players whose goal celebrations were recreated by Atlas.
Interesting Engineering - Alberto Rodriguez is the Director of Robotics Behavior at Boston Dynamics.
WHAT:
Interesting Engineering - Atlas became the first humanoid robot to perform during a FIFA World Cup match.
Interesting Engineering - Atlas's performance included recreating several iconic goal celebrations made famous by leading international players.
Interesting Engineering - The performance demonstrated that the production version of Atlas can operate reliably in a crowded, fast-paced setting while performing coordinated movements with accuracy and stability.
Interesting Engineering - The halftime activation was part of Hyundai's broader Next Starts Now campaign, which combines football, robotics, and AI.
Interesting Engineering - Atlas made its debut during halftime of the Round of 16 match between Norway and Brazil at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Interesting Engineering - Atlas performed a choreographed sequence of football-inspired celebrations, showcasing its balance, agility, and ability to execute complex movements.
Interesting Engineering - Atlas collected the ceremonial match ball and delivered it to the referee to signal the start of the second half.
CNET - Atlas learned soccer skills through "massive trial and error."
WHERE:
Interesting Engineering - The performance took place at New York/New Jersey Stadium during the FIFA World Cup.
WHEN:
Interesting Engineering - The performance marked one of Atlas’ biggest public showcases since its appearance at CES 2026.
Interesting Engineering - The halftime activation was part of Hyundai's broader Next Starts Now campaign.
WHY:
Interesting Engineering - The performance aimed to demonstrate the growing role of advanced humanoid robots at major global events.
Interesting Engineering - The activation was part of a campaign to combine football, robotics, and AI, showcasing Hyundai's vision of human-centered innovation.
HOW:
Interesting Engineering - Atlas's football-inspired performance was powered by a combination of retargeting technology, reinforcement learning, and whole-body control.
Interesting Engineering - During training, variables such as object weight, grip strength, floor friction, and object placement were continuously changed to force the robot to adapt to different conditions.
Interesting Engineering - The system relies on proprioception to make real-time adjustments during performance.
Interesting Engineering - Atlas's performance was powered by retargeting technology, reinforcement learning, and whole-body control.
Interesting Engineering - Atlas was trained through millions of hours of reinforcement learning simulations running on GPUs, adapting to variables such as object weight and floor friction.
Interesting Engineering - The system relies on proprioception to make real-time adjustments during performance.
(UPDATED July 7, 2026 15:54 UTC)
In a groundbreaking moment for robotics, Atlas has become the first humanoid robot to perform during a FIFA World Cup match, showcasing its ability to recreate iconic goal celebrations made famous by top international players. This impressive halftime activation, part of Hyundai's Next Starts Now campaign, demonstrated Atlas's reliability in a crowded, fast-paced environment, thanks to advanced technologies like retargeting, reinforcement learning, and whole-body control. During its training, the robot adapted to various conditions by adjusting to changes in object weight, grip strength, and floor friction, allowing it to perform with remarkable accuracy and stability.
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(UPDATED July 7, 2026 13:47 UTC)
Atlas, the humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics, made a stunning debut during halftime of the Round of 16 match between Norway and Brazil at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, showcasing its impressive balance and agility through choreographed football-inspired celebrations. The performance, which included Atlas collecting the ceremonial match ball and delivering it to the referee, highlighted the growing role of advanced humanoid robots at major global events and was part of Hyundai's Next Starts Now campaign. Powered by cutting-edge technology and extensive reinforcement learning, Atlas demonstrated its ability to adapt to various conditions, marking one of its biggest public showcases since appearing at CES 2026.