[World Cup Star] Son Heung-min Perfectly Recreates Haaland’s Celebration… Striker 'Atlas'

A steel striker that dominates the pitch—The moment the future becomes real

Through Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot 'Atlas (Atlas)', Hyundai Motor imprinted its overwhelming 'Robotics (Robotics)' technology on the world stage that is the biggest sports event on the planet, the 2026 North America and Central America World Cup.

Hyundai Motor successfully demonstrated a bold halftime performance in which Atlas directly delivered the match ball to the referee in the Round of 16 match (Brazil vs. Norway) at the World Cup on the 5th (local time) at the New Jersey, New York-New Jersey Stadium in the United States.

Stepping out through the players’ entrance tunnel, Atlas went beyond mere walking. 'Harry Kane', 'Erling Haaland', and 'Matheus Cunha', as well as South Korea’s 'Son Heung-min', recreated signature celebrations from world-class soccer stars with pinpoint accuracy, drawing gasps from 60,000 spectators. The scene that followed—handing the ball to the referee and signaling the start of the second half—was recorded as a historic highlight where sports and cutting-edge technology intersect.

Beyond human limits: Precise motion created by 'Retargeting' and AI

Atlas, which took the spotlight in this event, is a next-generation electric model that made its debut at 'CES 2026' in January. Going beyond a controlled laboratory environment to demonstrate such dynamic complex motions in a real game setting packed with tens of thousands of people and countless variables marked a first-of-its-kind achievement in the history of robotics engineering.

At the heart of this innovation is 'Retargeting' technology, which reinterprets human movements to match the robot’s skeletal structure. Combined with 'Reinforcement Learning', which underwent thousands of simulations, and 'Whole-Body Control Technology', in which the robot’s entire-body joints respond as if they were a single living organism, Atlas completed natural, well-balanced motions that feel like they defy gravity.

Through this demonstration, the Hyundai Motor Group made it clear that robotics technology can expand beyond a mere industrial support tool into a key domain of everyday life spanning sports and entertainment—by proving the 'commercialization potential' beyond doubt.

'Next Starts Now': A mobility vision that has seeped into daily life

This World Cup performance was planned as a core project of Hyundai Motor’s global brand campaign 'Next Starts Now (The future begins right here, right now)', which has traveled alongside the International Football Association (FIFA) as an official partner since 1999. The campaign video, which was previewed before the opening and captured Atlas’s fun soccer training process, also drew explosive reactions from global fans.

Along with that, Hyundai Motor will unveil the documentary 'Training Ground', produced jointly with the U.K.’s BBC on the 7th. The video will vividly depict Atlas’s intense training process aimed at the World Cup stage and the team’s journey to break through limitations.

Jiwon Lee, vice president of Hyundai Motor’s brand marketing division, said, "In the World Cup, where attention is focused around the world, Atlas’s performance is evidence that the future is no longer in the realm of imagination," and added, "Going forward, we will present an expanded 'future mobility vision' led by robotics based on human-centered technology."

Alberto Rodriguez, who oversees Atlas behavior policy at Boston Dynamics, also said, "This movement by Atlas is based on 'AI learning technology' at a level that can be deployed immediately at actual industrial sites," and added, "We won’t loosen the reins of innovation so that humanity can experience the true value of advanced robotics in everyday life."