(Credit: Aidol)
Don't miss out on our latest stories. Add PCMag as a preferred source on Google.
It's been a big fall for humanoid robots, with the reveal of two new prototypes in the US. Now Russia has entered the ring with Aidol—sort of.
The robot's grand reveal at a technology conference in Moscow didn't go as planned. It emerged from backstage and walked about five feet before face-planting onto the stage. Two humans leapt to pick up the robot and dragged it offstage, shielding it with a black curtain.
Aidol was intended to mark Russia's entry into the global race for humanoid machines, according to Polish outlet TVP World. Instead, the internet, including multiple pro-Ukrainian X accounts, is mocking it.
However, Aidol CEO Vladimir Vitukhin, who is based in Dubai, is spinning the snafu as a teachable moment. On LinkedIn, he reposted commentary from OFweek Robotics that says Vitukhin called the mishap a valuable "real-time training" session, adding that "successful mistakes convert into knowledge, and failed mistakes convert into experience."
Another post, which Vitukhin also reposted, argued that trying and failing is better than doing nothing. "Its next version will be better!"
(Credit: LinkedIn)The Aidol website boasts higher performance than it demonstrated onstage. The bot can supposedly work autonomously for up to six hours, reproduce 12 basic emotions and "hundreds of micro-expressions," and walk 3.7mph (6km/h). For maximum utility, it claims to be able to work offline and online, as well as integrate with third-party tools.
The company also offers a desktop version, which is not a chatbot, but a torso and head that literally sits on your desk and talks to you. It can turn its head, and remembers the last thing you talked about. Aidol boasts that the desktop format "allows the robot to be quickly installed in any space and easily change locations as needed."
US-made humanoid robots are also far from perfect. Figure AI claims its prototype can fold your clothes and do the dishes, which is a big step forward but far from full functionality. 1X Technologies' Neo robot also promises to do your chores, but it costs $20,000, and if it can't complete a task, then a 1X employee may take over remotely and peek into your home.
Elon Musk is also working on a Tesla Bot. In 2022, it successfully came out on stage during a demo, did a "raise the roof" motion, and quickly scurried away. That came after a 2021 demo that was just a guy in leotard. More recently, Tesla Bots danced in a gazebo and poured drinks at last year's Cybercab event. However, engineers remotely operated them behind the scenes, unbeknownst to attendees, Business Insider reports.