Don’t try to run before you can walk — or walk before you can stand.
One of Russia’s first humanoid robots, known as AIDOL, toppled over in front of a crowd in Moscow during its reveal on Tuesday as “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme song from the movie “Rocky,” played in the background.
A Moscow news agency posted the video of the robot’s fall after the incident.
The company, a Russian startup called Artificial Intelligence Dynamic Organism Lab, or AIDOL, like the robot’s name, posted a statement to Telegram on Thursday in response to the media attention.
“We know that many are worried about the robot’s condition. It’s in good hands, and we’ll do everything possible to help it recover soon
As they say — stay tuned.”
It then posted a follow-up video on Thursday showing AIDOL in recovery mode — a bandage on its nose and a wrap on its head.
“My team is already giving me a drip of pure electricity and cleaning the lenses on my cameras, so I can see better and handle the attention of a dozen camera flashes,” the robot says in the video.
Humanoid robots have become a top investment category as companies like Tesla, which manufactures a 5-foot-8 humanoid robot known as Optimus, and Figure, which develops a humanoid robot named Helix, build machines to augment or even replace the human labor force.
Growing the market share of Optimus is a key parameter for Tesla CEO Elon Musk to secure his new $1 trillion pay package. After the vote to approve that package earlier this month, Musk suggested that Optimus could “eliminate poverty.”
AIDOL was a relative unknown in the industry before this week’s viral mishap. It’s helmed by Vladimir Vitukhin, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, is now based in Dubai, but has years of experience directing federal IT projects for the Russian government. He’s been in charge of the company since February 2023.
On its website, AIDOL describes itself as “the first Russian anthropomorphic robot” incorporating AI and notes that it builds both walking and desktop versions.
The company said it was surprised by the attention it’s received over the incident.
“To be honest, we are a bit puzzled by the surprise around this situation in the media,” a spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.
“AIDOL is a startup — one of thousands globally, and still one of relatively few in Russia. We are focused on the dynamic stabilization and development of anthropomorphic robots. This is not a government initiative, nor is it funded by large corporations, but a small independent team of 14 people who have been building this robot for several years using their own funds, without external investment.”
The company said in the statement that it is among the “most advanced” in Russia and is on par with “leading international efforts.”
“For example, we have created what we believe to be the first robot with full facial expressions and support for offline, context-aware dialogue,” the company said. “With that in mind, we find it somewhat surprising that the fact a robot from a small anthropomorphic robotics startup fell onstage has caused such concern globally. From our point of view, this is simply part of the normal process of developing cutting-edge technology.”
