Nov 10, 2026
Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot Atlas has successfully performed a challenging aerial maneuver, jumping into the air, spinning 360 degrees and landing like a figure skater — all while equipped with wheels instead of feet. The robotics company, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, released a video Monday showing a wheeled version of Atlas performing a series of demanding movements designed to test the limits of its motors and whole-body control technology. The 2-minute, 50-second video shows Atlas rapidly moving sideways while changing direction on its wheels, executing a full 360-degree spinning jump, balancing on one wheel with the other leg raised and lifting itself off the floor before accelerating forward. The robot successfully completed the 360-degree spinning jump on its first attempt. The achievement followed efforts by the development team to narrow the gap between computer simulations and real-world hardware through a process known as "sim-to-real" transfer. Engineers also used reinforcement learning, a machine-learning technique in which robots improve their performance throu