Hyundai Motor Group showcased its full lineup of latest intelligent robots at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, highlighting the era of physical AI. Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun held a closed-door meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on site. The meeting has raised hopes for collaboration in autonomous driving technologies.
At CES 2026 held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Hyundai Motor Group operated a 1,836-square-meter booth over four days. The exhibit featured the next-generation Atlas humanoid robot, the four-legged Spot robot dog, and the autonomous mobility robot MobED.
The Atlas robot was displayed in two versions: a research prototype and a product model. The prototype includes advanced rotational joints and sensors, enabling navigation of complex industrial environments and repetitive tasks, with AI-driven learning to adapt quickly to new roles. A demo showed it moving a component from one shelf to another. The product model has mostly fully rotational joints and human-scale hands equipped with tactile sensors for a wide range of tasks.
Spot robots featured live demonstrations alongside an archive exhibit tracing their journey from early research to real-world deployment. MobED, with interchangeable top modules, highlighted use cases like golf and delivery. The IONIQ 5 robotaxi, a Level 4 autonomous vehicle operable without a driver, will start ride-hailing services in Las Vegas this year, powered by technologies from Hyundai and Motional. The X-ble Shoulder wearable robot reduces shoulder strain by up to 60% during repetitive tasks.
A company official said, "We will offer a tech presentation on Atlas, Spot and MobED each hour at the booth, so visitors can get a deeper understanding of our physical AI vision."
Meanwhile, Executive Chair Chung Euisun held a closed-door meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Tuesday (local time) at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel. This came a day after Nvidia unveiled its AI autonomous driving platform, Alpamayo. The open-source platform allows automakers to modify and apply the software to vehicles and is set for release in Europe and Asia later this year.
The two had previously met in Seoul in October over beer and fried chicken, joined by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong. Industry watchers expect the partnership to give Hyundai momentum in the autonomous driving race, where it is seen as trailing rivals. Hyundai Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon recently noted the possibility of collaboration with Nvidia's autonomous driving business.
Chung also visited the group's booth to inspect its AI strategy integrated with robotics—the largest in the West Hall—as well as Doosan Group's booth for hydrogen energy and robotics partnerships, and booths of Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Qualcomm. His attendance followed a trip to China and signals strong intent to expand ties with global tech giants amid the auto industry's shift to autonomous driving and AI.
An industry official said, "The Hyundai Motor Group chief’s CES visit displays the carmaker’s strong willingness to expand partnerships with global tech giants at a time when the auto industry is entering a major paradigm shift for autonomous driving and AI."
