Russia’s first humanoid robot was showcased to the world Wednesday with the unveiling dramatically cut short after it tripped within moments of stepping onto a Moscow stage.
Video of the spectacular fall went viral after the robot, called Aldol, entered the stage to the theme song “Gonna Fly Now” from the movie “Rocky.”
During the event, organized by New Technology Coalition, Aldol staggered before raising its right arm in what looked like a friendly wave.
As the AI-driven humanoid wobbled again, it can be seen on camera falling face-first just seconds into its introduction.
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“The Russian robot could barely walk and wave its hand,” Tech Radar’s Lance Ulanoff told FOX Business. “This made Russia look like it’s very far behind, not only in the robot race but in the generative AI one, as well.”
“The U.S. boasts robots like Tesla Optimus, Figure 03, and Atlas from Boston Dynamics, and these are machines that walk, dance, flip, and handle chores,” he said.
“Robot development is advancing quickly now, precisely because generative AI is helping train these robots for the unforeseen, but this Russian robot looked like it had zero training,” Ulanoff said.
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As the audience looked on, the video also showed two assistants rushing to help the robot back to its feet.
A black curtain was then quickly pulled across the stage to cover up the drastic mistake.
“The video probably went viral not just because of the fall but because of how the team reacted, dragging the robot off the stage, and then trying to cover it all up with a curtain,” Ulanoff said.
“It was all bad and comical.”
“So many things can go wrong in robot development and this video is proof, another reminder, that robotics is hard,” he added.
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“China and a collection of U.S. companies have been making waves in recent years with robots, so this one was the first I’ve seen, but that may be because Russia chose to do such a public launch,” he said.
According to reports, the Moscow event was set up to show Russia’s progress in AI and robotics as it hopes to position itself in the race for advanced humanoid machines across the world.
AIdol CEO Vladimir Vitukhin, the machine’s parent company, said the fall was because of the lighting and calibration issues.
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“This is precisely the kind of real-time learning where a successful mistake turns into knowledge, and an unsuccessful one turns into experience. I hope that this mistake turns into experience.” he said.
