This hilarious robot collapse reminds me that robot development is nowhere near where it needs to be, but a huge breakthrough from DeepMind could change all that

Date:
Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:55:00 +0000

Description:
Two recent robot demonstrations one a huge fail and the other an inspiring breakthrough remind us how far robots capable of living and working among us are from reality.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter I watched two robot videos at the opposite ends of the Cantril Scale. You know, the ladder that measures human happiness in steps but that I am now applying to humanoid accomplishment?

At the bottom step and living its worst possible artificial life, we have the Qualcomm robot that, after delivering the new Dragonwing IQ10 robotics reference platform on a tray to a presenter, spectacularly collapsed lifelessly at the guy's feet. The robot raised one hand as if in defeat, and seconds later, handlers rushed out to throw a sheet over its lifeless mechanical body. Robot powered by Qualcomms new AI chip dies mid-presentation from r/singularity At the top of the ladder and full of artificial life satisfaction, we have the Apollo Robot from Apptronik . It's running DeepMind's Gemini Robotics 2 , a new artificial intelligence layer that lets it autonomously accomplish a wide variety of human-like tasks, which it demonstrates in a new DeepMind video . Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch
full video here:

Watching the two videos side-by-side, I was struck by both the leaps in humanoid robotics we're making almost daily thanks to new foundation models and the ability to simulate robotic training at scale, and how many humanoid robots remain wildly disappointing.

As I told someone this week, I grow tired of all the companies promising robots in the home doing our bidding (and possibly doing all of our jobs)
this year, let alone within the next five years . I've been covering robotics for a quarter of a century; I get the technology, I've watched the
trajectory, and even with the most recent rapid acceleration, the majority of humanoid robots fall into the Qualcomm and not the Apollo and DeepMind camp. You may like These robot hands are almost too human but they could accelerate the home robot revolution Crawl, walk, run thats how you get humanoid robotics all grown up I just watched a robot kick a child, and I'm over it

It's not clear why the Qualcomm robot collapsed. It could've been an onboard error, which would not be a great way to sell Qualcomm's latest robotics technology, or maybe it was simply the battery on the human-sized bot.
Perhaps someone forgot to charge it up before the presentation, and when the battery was spent, all those electric servos keeping it upright and balanced gave out.

It's not like it was some exciting demonstration of the Qualcomm technology
in the seconds before that, when the robot very slowly and carefully walked out on stage looking like someone's 1960s projection of future robot capabilities. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me
with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Gemini Robotics 2 brings whole body intelligence to robots - YouTube Watch On I suspect it would have done better if it were built based on DeepMind's latest breakthrough.

Gemini Robotics 2 is interesting because instead of disparate sensors making choices about movement and touch while someone teleoperates or preprograms
the major movements and tasks, this system promises wholly centralized, whole-body control.

According to DeepMind's website on the new technology, Gemini Robotics 2 "brings whole-body intelligence to humanoids, enables advanced dexterity, and can coordinate multiple robots to work together in shared spaces." What to read next Gundam suits, backflips, and a robot Harry Kane I met Agibot's humanoids up close, and couldn't believe my eyes Humanoid robots wont be the future: purpose-built robots will I just watched a Chinese robot make the worst eggs I've ever seen and I'm a little less worried about robots taking our jobs

The biggest stumbling block (no offense to the Qualcomm robot) is the complexity of our world. Our homes, offices, streets, and overall
environments are not carefully planned out to help us avoid mistakes.
Instead, they're open environments where we constantly learn and adapt. Basically, we figure out how to live, work, and interact. At a fundamental level, that's what DeepMind hopes Gemini Robotics 2 produces.

They see Gemini Robotics 2 as "the brain that controls the whole body of the humanoid" and, through the use of sensors, vision, and subroutines, adapts
and learns how to navigate. In one example they showed, an Apollo robot uses its hands to cinch and tie up a garbage bag. It's something humans do with ease, but it represented a breakthrough for these robots, because they had
not been trained on the task.

Meanwhile, that Qualcomm robot is lying on the floor after a short walk.

Gemini Robotics 2 is still in the research phase, but it points to more
useful and potentially safer robots that can live and work among us and other robots without the constant need for training and oversight.

That's the true state of humanoid robots, and not the promises made by other competing humanoid robot companies like Tesla, Neo, and Figure, though their development may accelerate if they adopt systems like Gemini Robotics 2. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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