Google DeepMind has appointed Aaron Saunders, a 23-year veteran of Boston Dynamics, as VP of Hardware Engineering. The move signals a major push to turn Gemini into a universal operating system for physical AI.
In a candid new discussion, leaders from the Atlas team detail the "bitter lessons" of hardware reliability, the internal debate over legs versus wheels, and why automotive manufacturing is the ultimate "manipulation complete" test for AI.
Hyundai Motor Group is committing KRW 50.5 trillion to future technologies, including plans for a new AI data center, a "Physical AI Application Center," and a dedicated robotics manufacturing and foundry facility.
In a recent interview, Atlas Product Management Lead Mario Bollini discusses the strategic shift to electric actuators, the embrace of reinforcement learning, and why the humanoid form factor is about turning physical challenges into software solutions.
In a new video, Boston Dynamics engineers explain the design philosophy behind the electric Atlas's three-fingered grippers, emphasizing a pragmatic balance of dexterity, reliability, and simplified complexity for real-world manipulation.