On 4th local time, Boston Dynamics Chairman Marc Raibert and Hyundai Motor Group's Robotics Lab Executive Director Hyun Dong-jin announced their robot philosophy at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Hyundai Motor Group acquired an 80 per cent stake in Boston Dynamics, the U.S. robot company, from Softbank Group. Hyundai Motor said that robotics technology is essential to the future mobility market. On this day, Boston Dynamics Chairman Raibert said: "We are carefully thinking about how to help people when developing robots. It was designed to handle various tasks. It can do the job alone, and do it with the other works.
Stretch,'' a robot representing 'tomorrow, was designed to focus on a single task. This is useful for the logistics industry, such as transportation or inventory management. It is expected to be produced mass next year.
The robot Atlas'', which represents the future, is a human-type robot with two legs and two arms. It has a vision scanner and a visual sensor that play a role in the human brain. It is designed to be used on various platforms and can be used to study innovative ideas.
Chairman Raibert said that he had no idea about Tesla's robot development. It will be surprising if Tesla does well in robot business, such as humanoids. He said that the competition deserves to be welcomed. He also showed off a strong relationship between Hyundai Motor and Boston Dynamics.
Chairman Raibert said that the two companies are participating in a lot of collaboration works. Hyundai Motor has the mass-production capability and is actively investing in R&D for current and future business. He said that Hyundai Motor has also developed their capabilities in the robotics field. Hyundai Motor's top management, including Chairman Chung Eui-sun, is actively supporting the robotics technology and paying attention to it. He mentioned the possibility of further collaboration. He said that both Boston Dynamics and Hyundai Motor are actively discussing further collaboration. We might be able to make a detailed plan next year or in two years. The communications with Chairman Chung and his supporters have positively affected Boston Dynamics.