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It strode out on stage to the Rocky soundtrack, but Russia’s first humanoid robot did not impress once it got on stage.
After taking only a few shaky steps and then trying to wave, it faceplanted towards the crowd in Moscow, with the inspirational music still playing, but now sounding like a joke.
Things go from bad to worse for the robot called AIdol, as while its handlers dragged it away, two others tried to shield it from view with a large black sheet, only for it to become twisted up.
Not exactly the showcase the Kremlin would want for its robotics industry, particularly when Vladimir Putin’s pal Xi Jinping was showing off robot wolves as part of a military parade in September.
The aim was to show off AI and robotics produced domestically.
But it seems that if Putin has any plans to deply a robot army in Ukraine, it might take a while.
Humanoid robots have historically been harder to develop due to balance issues, with those on four legs or wheels proving more useful so far.
But some companies such as those making Neo, Optimus, and Unitree’s H2 have at least managed to master walking for their models, if not quite loading the dishwasher.
The failed display of Russia’s first offering happened in front of an audience at the Yarovit Hall Congress Center on November 10.
Vladimir Vitukhin, CEO of Idol which created it, blamed calibration issues, saying that the robot was still in its test phase.
During the presentation, he had said that ‘the robot can smile, think, and be surprised—just like a person,’ so perhaps that makes up for not being able to walk or wave.
After the tumble, he said: ‘This is real-time learning, when a good mistake turns into knowledge, and a bad mistake turns into experience.’
Romain Moulin, the founder of Exotec which makes robots on wheels, previously told Metro he wasn’t impressed with humanoids, which he thinks are ‘destined for the scrapheap’ when it comes to warehouses.
‘Nobody has a convincing answer on why you would have legs instead of wheels for an industrial environment,’ he said.
‘Why would you want legs on a flat concrete floor? You will save half of your robot price by removing them.’
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