Boston Dynamics trains Atlas humanoid robot to pick up and place washing machine - Robotics & Automation News

The release comes amid growing competition in the humanoid robotics sector, with companies including Tesla, Figure AI, Agility Robotics, and 1X Technologies all accelerating efforts to commercialize humanoid systems for logistics, manufacturing, and warehouse operations.

While many humanoid robots can already walk, climb, or balance impressively, Boston Dynamics’ latest demonstration highlights what many researchers increasingly view as the industry’s biggest remaining challenge: reliable manipulation and physical interaction in real-world environments.

The new Atlas footage suggests Boston Dynamics is now concentrating heavily on that next stage – building robots capable not only of moving through the world, but working within it.

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Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

Boston Dynamics trains Atlas humanoid robot to pick up and place washing machine

by David Edwards

Boston Dynamics has released new behind-the-scenes footage showing its latest electric humanoid robot, Atlas, performing heavy lifting and manipulation tasks that the company says are designed to prepare the system for real industrial work. (See video below.)

The demonstration centers on Atlas lifting and carrying a mini-fridge weighing roughly 50 pounds, although Boston Dynamics says the robot successfully handled a loaded fridge weighing more than 100 pounds during testing. The company says the breakthrough is not simply the robot’s physical strength, but the development of AI-driven control systems capable of adapting to “real world adaptability: handling heavy objects by bracing and accounting for the mass and inertia; using whole-body control, not just hands to maneuver”.

The latest Atlas system represents a major shift in humanoid robotics development, where companies are increasingly focused on teaching robots how to perform practical physical work in unpredictable industrial environments rather than simply demonstrating locomotion.