Boston Dynamics · research humanoid
Atlas
DRC hydraulic Atlas
A 6 ft 2 in (about 188 cm), 330 lb hydraulic humanoid with 28 hydraulically driven joints, originally tethered for power, built so teams could compete on software for disaster-response tasks. Later upgraded with a battery backpack for the 2015 finals.
- Price
- $2,000,000Cheaper than 0%
- Height
- 188 cmTaller than 95%
- Weight
- 150 kgHeavier than 93%
- Payload
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
The government-furnished robot for the DARPA Robotics Challenge; seven software teams received identical Atlas units, making it the shared platform of the competition.
Real-world use
Delivered to DRC Track B/C teams in 2013; IHMC's Atlas ('Running Man') took second at the 2015 finals.
Timeline
- Released
- 2013-07
Maker
Boston DynamicsCompany · founded 1992 · Waltham, Massachusetts, United StatesOwned by Hyundai Motor Group since June 2021 (80% stake bought from SoftBank for about $880M; SoftBank kept about 20%).
How it stacks up
Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Atlas (DRC hydraulic Atlas) is taller than 95% of the 305 other humanoids that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Atlas (DRC hydraulic Atlas) is heavier than 93% of the 277 other humanoids that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Atlas (DRC hydraulic Atlas) has more joints than 39% of the 236 other humanoids that publish a joints. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Atlas (DRC hydraulic Atlas) costs less than 0% of the 85 other humanoids that publish a price. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: speed, payload, battery.
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current humanoids.
- 2,745 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Atlas (robot))
- 3 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Walks on legs · 28 joints
- Actuators & motors
- 28 hydraulically actuated joints with closed-loop position and force control, fed by an on-board hydraulic pump with thermal management.
- Hands
- Two hand sets supplied: one from iRobot and one from Sandia National Laboratories.
- Sensors & vision
- Carnegie Robotics sensor head with LiDAR and stereo cameras.
- Compute
- On-board real-time control computer linked by 10 Gbps fibre-optic Ethernet; C++ and ROS APIs; higher-level guidance from software and a human operator.
- Battery & power
- No battery: 480 V three-phase power through a tether.
- Materials & build
- Aircraft-grade aluminium and titanium.
Named suppliers:ROS (Open Robotics)Carnegie RoboticsSandia National LaboratoriesiRobot
Lineage
Every Boston Dynamics (for DARPA) humanoid in order.
PETMAN2009Retired
Atlas (DRC hydraulic Atlas)2013Retired
Atlas (next generation)2016Retired
Atlas (electric prototype)2024Prototype
Atlas (product version)2026Pilot use
Boston Dynamics also makes 15 machines. See every Boston Dynamics robot
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- $2,000,000about US$2 million per robot; supplied through DARPA, not a retail price
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Built
- Units supplied to the seven DARPA Virtual Robotics Challenge Track B/C teams (DARPA, 2013).
- Sold or delivered
- Not sold commercially; about US$2 million each.
- Where it is sold or used
- United States, plus DRC teams abroad
- Customers and pilots
- DRC teams including IHMC, which placed second at the 2015 Finals
News
The latest 3, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- IHMC's Running Man captures 2nd at DARPA robotics competition
IHMC's Boston Dynamics Atlas robot, Running Man, finished second at the June 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals in Pomona.
Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition - Atlas balancing demonstration
Atlas maintained one-legged balance while struck from the side.
BBC News Mundo - DARPA unveils Atlas
DARPA introduced the hydraulic humanoid built by Boston Dynamics for DRC teams.
DARPA
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every humanoid: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose
| Measure | Atlas (DRC hydraulic Atlas)Boston Dynamics (for DARPA) |  THOR / SAFFiRVirginia Tech TREC Lab (for the US Office of Naval Research)Same job: military · Both walk · Both past robots · Similar size |  FEDOR (Skybot F-850)Android Technics (NPO Androidnaya Tekhnika) and Russia's Advanced Research FoundationSame job: military · Both walk · Both past robots · Similar size |
|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2013-07-11 | 2014-11-03 | 2016 |
| Status | Retired | Retired | Retired |
| Height | 188 cm | 178 cm | 182 cm |
| Weight | 150 kg | 64 kg | 106 kg |
| Joints | 28 | — | — |
| Speed | — | — | — |
| Payload | — | — | — |
| Battery | — | — | — |
| Price | $2,000,000 | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
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