Hyundai Motor Group is preparing one of the most ambitious humanoid robot rollouts yet in U.S. manufacturing, with plans to deploy more than 25,000 Boston Dynamics Atlas robots across Hyundai and Kia facilities.
The plan, reported from investor relations materials tied to a JPMorgan Chase-hosted session, would bring Atlas into American auto plants as early as 2028. Kia CEO Song Ho-sung said the first deployment is expected at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia, with Kia’s Georgia plant following in 2029.
The scale is what makes the proposal notable. Hyundai is not describing a small pilot or a showroom demonstration. The company also plans annual production capacity for 30,000 Atlas robots by 2028, according to the report, though it has not released a detailed public schedule for each plant.
Why Hyundai wants humanoid robots on the factory floor
Atlas is designed to move through spaces built for people. That matters in factories because humanoid machines can potentially take on tasks without requiring automakers to redesign entire production lines around conventional industrial robots.
Hyundai’s expected use case centers on flexibility, speed and physically demanding work. The robots can bend, lift, balance and carry objects, raising the possibility that they could handle repetitive or awkward tasks that place strain on workers. The same prospect also brings unresolved questions about job security, retraining and safety oversight as robots work closer to people.
Boston Dynamics has recently shown Atlas lifting and carrying a heavy object in a technical demonstration. The company says the robot learned the behavior through reinforcement learning and simulation, meaning it practiced variations of a task in software before attempting the skill in the physical world. Engineers adjusted variables such as weight, grip, floor friction and object placement to help the robot adapt when conditions changed.
Atlas also relies on proprioception, or internal body awareness, rather than depending only on cameras. In practical terms, that means the robot uses sensors and software to monitor balance, grip pressure, resistance and body movement while it works. Boston Dynamics says the newer Atlas platform is built to narrow the gap between simulated training and real-world movement.
How the plan works
Hyundai reportedly plans to make more than 300,000 actuator units a year at U.S. facilities. Actuators function like a robot’s joints and muscles, so that production target points to a broader effort to control key components behind humanoid robot manufacturing.
Still, the most important tests will happen inside working plants. Hyundai has not provided enough public detail to answer how staffing, training or worker protections would change if thousands of Atlas robots enter U.S. factories. The Georgia launch is expected to show whether the machines can operate safely and reliably around people, and whether humanoid robots can move beyond impressive demos into everyday industrial work.
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