Boston Dynamics, a Robotics affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, expressed confidence about competing with Chinese robot makers.

Zack Jackowski, who leads development of the Humanoid Robot "Atlas" at Boston Dynamics, said at a press briefing at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) in the United States on the 7th (local time) during "CES 2026," "We know Chinese companies are aggressively entering the robot market, but I hope the focus will be on what tasks robots can actually perform in industrial settings."

At a Hyundai Motor Group press conference at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the 5th, a day before the opening of CES 2026, Zack Jackowski, head of Atlas development at Boston Dynamics (right), introduces the next-generation electric Atlas development model. /Courtesy of News1

Jackowski said, "If robots go on-site and do nothing but walk around or only show off kung fu, I don't think that brings economic utility," adding, "We are maintaining a commanding lead and leading the market, and we will focus on tasks that are truly valuable and helpful."

Unitree, a Chinese robot maker, released a video of its robot "G1" last year. In the video at the time, G1 performed several kung fu moves, including kicks, drawing attention. Jackowski's remarks are seen as expressing confidence that the company can get ahead in Robotics and physical artificial intelligence (AI) competition with Chinese firms, including Unitree.

Hyundai Mobis, which supplies actuators for Atlas, also stressed its differentiation from Chinese parts suppliers. Oh Se-uk, executive director of the Hyundai Mobis Robotics Business Promotion Office, said, "Chinese companies are focusing on mimicking human behavior," adding, "By contrast, Boston Dynamics aims to deliver better-than-human performance on actual mass-production lines, which creates a gap."

Oh said, "Chinese robot developers have no experience in producing parts at scale, but we have experience and know-how in mass production," repeatedly emphasizing, "Because production lines and after-sales service supply chains are established worldwide, we can supply parts reliably."

Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics signed a "strategic partnership to accelerate the development of future humanoid technologies" with Google DeepMind at this CES.

Jackowski said, "Google DeepMind has researched high-difficulty challenges at the very top of the robot grand challenge set, so I think it will provide answers to problems academia has not solved so far," adding, "Complex and flexible manipulation is important, and Boston Dynamics has a well-organized internal team for this."

He added, "In the future, the robot market will grow to a scale larger than the existing automobile market."

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