Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Watch this humanoid robot unveil go horribly wrong

By
Add as a preferred source on Google
‘Putin lookalike’ robot takes tumble during unveiling

AIDOL is apparently Russia’s first domestically produced AI-powered humanoid robot … but hopefully it won’t be the last.

Making its debut at a special event in Moscow this week, AIDOL tottered onto a stage to the Rocky theme. And then promptly fell over.

Truth be told, AIDOL didn’t look too steady from the moment that it appeared. The AI-powered robot was all over the place. It looked like it’d been on the bottle. After a few wobbly steps, it attempted to wave at the audience. But seconds later, its legs gave way, causing it to crash to the floor.

Assistants ran onto the stage and tried to hold a sheet over AIDOL in an apparent bid to preserve its dignity, but even that went wrong as the sheet became tangled and ended up covering nothing. Instead, we got to see AIDOL being unceremoniously dragged off the stage, presumably back to the workshop (or possibly the nearest garbage can).

The company behind AIDOL, also called AIDOL, remained positive following the unfortunate hiccup.

Its CEO, Vladimir Vitukhin, told the Russian state news agency Tass that AIDOL was still at a learning stage, adding, “I hope this mistake will turn into an experience.”

According to the company’s website, AIDOL features advanced dialogue generation, emotion recognition, and highly expressive facial capabilities with 19 servo motors enabling at least 12 basic emotions and hundreds of micro-expressions. Yes, it seems like the team has concentrated on its face at the expense of its legs.

AIDOL is designed to operate fully offline with on-device voice processing, and can run autonomously for up to six hours on a 48-volt battery. And on a good day, it can apparently walk at speeds of up to 3.7 mph (6 kph).

Looking ahead (well ahead), the robot is intended for positions in manufacturing, logistics, banks, airports, and other public spaces, though let’s hope there’s a chair involved.

With rival firms like Figure, Xpeng, Unitree, and Boston Dynamics clearly well ahead in the humanoid robotics space, it’s uncertain whether AIDOL will ever be able to catch up.

We look forward to seeing version 2.

Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Topics
Apple’s M6 chip isn’t even here yet, but you’ll see M7 Macs early in 2027
Apple is reportedly already accelerating its next-generation silicon roadmap, even before the M6 has launched.
Apple MacBook

The M6 chip is still expected to debut later this year, but Apple may already be preparing for what comes next. According to Mark Gurman's latest report for Bloomberg, the company is aiming to introduce its first M7-powered devices as early as the first half of 2027, hinting at a much faster silicon refresh than many expected.

M7 could arrive alongside new Macs and iPads

Read more
The entry-level MacBook Pro could get a design refresh in 2027, and it’s about time
Five years on the same chassis, and now both tiers of the MacBook Pro are getting a new look at once.
MacBook Pro in space grey sitting on a desk.

Apple has a new MacBook Pro lined up for launch early next year, according to Bloomberg. The company will introduce a 14-inch laptop in the first half of 2027. 

The biggest surprise, however, will be a brand-new design language. The outlet describes it as "a revamped entry-level MacBook Pro, code-named K104."

Read more
Study finds humans will talk to AI ghosts of the dead as reincarnations, and it’s pretty grim
The first AI ghost study is in. The results are about as complicated as you'd expect.
VR Headset, Person, Face

A new study from the University of Colorado Boulder confirms something that sounds both impressive and concerning. People find interacting with AI simulations of their dead loved ones deeply meaningful, and most will come away wanting to do it again.

The researchers call it a "generative ghost," which is a clear reference to generative AI, but I’d still prefer to call it unsettling.

Read more