Boston Dynamics brings its legged robots to the FIFA World Cup

Boston Dynamics Inc. has brought its Atlas humanoid and Spot quadruped robots to the FIFA World Cup as part of an expanded partnership between FIFA and Hyundai Motor Co., which acquired Boston Dynamics in 2021. Hyundai proposed a soccer-focused campaign that led to the development of the "Ghost Rabona" kick for Atlas, according to Alberto Rodriguez, director of robot behavior at Boston Dynamics. Rodriguez said the company used motion capture and simulation with reinforcement learning to teach Atlas the maneuver, noting that practicing quick footwork with a ball is more complex than a backflip. He said the robot had to handle unexpected ground compliance on grass fields where feet can sink or slip. Merry Frayne, senior director of product for Spot, said Spot robots are operating at two stadiums in Dallas and two at Citi Field to support public safety. Frayne said the robots patrol perimeters when most people are gone, using cameras and lidar to look for hazards and suspicious packages. She said the robots do not have facial-recognition capabilities and are operated by security teams with support from Boston Dynamics development teams. Rodriguez said the technology remains far from enabling robots to interact with players or safely run near people.