Robot Videos: Multimodal Robot, Spot’s Sturdy Arm, More

Video Friday is your weekly collection of superior robotics movies, collected by your pals at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We additionally submit a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics occasions for the subsequent few months. Please ship us your occasions for inclusion.

IROS 2025: 19–25 October 2025, HANGZHOU, CHINA

Enjoy at the moment’s movies!

Caltech’s Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST) and the Technology Innovation Institute in Abu Dhabi, UAE, not too long ago carried out an indication of X1, a multirobot system developed as a part of a three-year collaboration between the 2 institutes. During the demo, M4, a multimodal robotic developed by CAST, launches in drone-mode from a humanoid robotic’s again. It lands and converts into driving mode after which again once more, as wanted. The demonstration underscored the form of progress that’s potential when engineers from a number of establishments on the forefront of autonomous techniques and applied sciences actually collaborate.

[ Caltech Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies ]

Spot robot performs dynamic whole-body manipulation utilizing a mixture of reinforcement studying and sampling-based management. Behavior proven within the video is absolutely autonomous, together with the dynamic collection of contacts on the arm, legs, and physique, and coordination between the manipulation and locomotion processes. The tire weighs 15 kg (33 lbs), making its mass and inertial vitality important in comparison with the load of the robotic. An exterior movement seize system was used to simplify notion and an exterior laptop linked by WiFi carried out the intensive computational operations.

Spot’s arm is stronger than I believed. Also, the arm-foot collaboration is fairly wild.

[ Robotics and AI Institute ]

Figure 03 represents an unprecedented development in taking humanoid robots from experimental prototypes to deployable, scalable merchandise. By uniting superior notion and tactile intelligence with home-safe design and mass-manufacturing readiness, Figure has constructed a platform able to studying, adapting, and dealing throughout each home and business settings. Designed for Helix, the house, and the world at scale, Figure 03 establishes the inspiration for true general-purpose robotics – one able to remodeling how individuals stay and work.

The child and the canine in these clips make me very, very nervous.

[ Figure ]

Researchers have invented a brand new tremendous agile robotic that may cleverly change form because of amorphous traits akin to the favored Marvel anti-hero Venom. Researchers used a particular materials known as electro-morphing gel (e-MG) which permits the robotic to point out shapeshifting features, permitting them to bend, stretch, and transfer in ways in which had been beforehand tough or unattainable, by manipulation of electrical fields from ultralightweight electrodes.

[ University of Bristol ]

This could be very preliminary after all, however I like the thought of quadrupedal robots bodily helping one another to surmount obstacles like this.

[ Robot Perception and Learning Lab ]

Have we reached peak dynamic humanoid but?

[ Unitree ]

Dynamic manipulation, resembling robotic tossing or throwing objects, has not too long ago gained consideration as a novel paradigm to hurry up logistic operations. However, the main focus has predominantly been on the article’s touchdown location, regardless of its closing orientation. In this work, we current a way enabling a robotic to precisely “throw-flip” objects to a desired touchdown pose (place and orientation).

[ LASA ]

I don’t care all that a lot about “industry-oriented” quadrupeds. I do care very a lot about “rideable” quadrupeds.

[ MagicLab ]

I’m not but on the level the place I might belief any humanoid round priceless historic relics. Any humanoid, not simply the robotic ones.

[ LimX ]

This CMU RI Seminar is from Matt Mason, Professor Emeritus at CMU, entitled “A Manipulation Journey.”

The speak will revisit my profession in manipulation analysis, specializing in initiatives that may provide some helpful classes for others. We will begin with my beginnings on the MIT AI Lab and my MS thesis, which remains to be my most cited work, then proceed with my arrival at CMU, a dialogue with Allen Newell, an train to examine a coherent analysis program, and the way that led to a second and third childhood. The speak will conclude with some dialogue of classes discovered.

[ Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute ]

Dr. Christian Hubicki highlights and explains the previous 12 months of humanoid robotics analysis and information.

[ Florida State University ]

More glorious robotics discussions from ICRA@40.

[ ICRA@40 ]