"A First in World Cup History": Atlas Soccer Performance Draws Global Media Attention

The performance showcased by Atlas, a humanoid robot from Boston Dynamics, a robotics subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, at a World Cup stadium in the United States is drawing attention from international media outlets.
Major overseas media outlets highlighted the body movements, including a goal celebration performed by Atlas in its first public demonstration, and paid close attention to the advancements in Hyundai Motor Group's learning-based humanoid robot technology.
Fortune, a leading U.S. business magazine, praised the performance Atlas delivered during the halftime of the World Cup Round of 16 match between Brazil and Norway, held at the New Jersey Stadium in the U.S. on July 5, stating, "Something that has never happened in World Cup history has taken place."
Fortune focused on the next-generation humanoid technology that learns on its own to adapt to various environments—unlike traditional programming-based industrial robots—and noted that this approach is similar to the training methods used for large language models.
Bloomberg, another U.S. business news outlet, reported that through this campaign, Hyundai Motor Group aimed to demonstrate that advanced robotics technology can be utilized in real-life settings beyond controlled laboratory environments.
In particular, it noted that conducting a test operation of Atlas in an outdoor stadium was a process of securing critical engineering data for future deployment on factory floors.
Global news agency Reuters focused on the fact that Atlas had to overcome various technical challenges to execute a stable performance at the World Cup stadium.
It specifically mentioned that because existing Wi-Fi-based communication could not be used in an environment with tens of thousands of spectators, a separate wireless communication system was built for Atlas.
Adweek, a U.S. marketing trade publication, reported that Hyundai Motor Group presented a new global marketing case study through this World Cup, combining robotics technology with its brand vision.
A Hyundai Motor official told Adweek, "We planned this performance not just for Hyundai Motor Group to participate as a World Cup sponsor, but to directly showcase our robotics technology and future vision on the stage that captures the most attention from fans around the world."
(Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.