Innovation
3 min read
Russia’s prize AI-powered robot stumbles, collapses onstage at grand unveiling
Russia’s first humanoid AI robot was meant to showcase the nation’s tech prowess. Instead, it ended in spectacular disaster.
Patrick Harrington - The Sun
This is the humiliating moment Russia’s prize robot collapses in a heap while being paraded on stage.
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AIdol – Russia’s first AI-powered, humanoid bot – was supposed to impress the crowds during its official presentation in Moscow, but instead left the developers red-faced.
Hilarious footage shows the machine wobbling onto the stage with the triumphant Rocky Theme blaring in the background.
It is flanked by two handlers from its developer, Idol, who watch on nervously.
The bot raises its right hand to give a wave to the crowd, and this action almost topples it over.
Then the machine lurches forward with several clunky steps – and this proves too much.
AIdol falls flat on its face, as the two operators scramble to pick it up off the floor and dozens of people pull out their phones to record the blunder.
In a bid to curtail the embarrassment, two more staff run onto the stage and guard the action with a black sheet, but it’s too late to hide the failure.
The robot was meant to herald Russia‘s arrival in the global race for convincing humanoid robots.
Idol CEO Vladimir Vitukhin blamed the fall on calibration issues, saying that the robot remained in its test phase.
Vitukhin said his creation can “smile, think, and be surprised, like a person” – it just can’t stand or walk.
He said: “I hope that this mistake will turn into an experience.”
The clip quickly found its way online and was mocked by amused viewers.
One wrote: “Before it fell it looked total s**t. Boston Dynamics have nothing to worry about.”
Another joked: “This is not bad design or programming. This is the most advanced robotics and AI.
“It’s just mimicking what it sees. In this case it’s alcoholic Russian creators.”
A third said: “This looks like 20 years ago in China. Russians should stick with hacking. Sorry but AI and robotics belongs to Elon Musk and China.”
AIdol is powered by a battery with up to six hours of life.
It has been removed from public display while Idol scrambles to fix the faulty kit.
The bot is currently manufactured from 77 per cent Russian components, but the firm wants to increase this to 93 per cent to reduce reliance on other nations.
After the tumble, AIdol was brought back on stage for an encore and managed to remain upright.
This article was originally published on The Sun and is reproduced here with permission
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