Humanoid robots joined human models on a Seoul runway, highlighting how robotics is moving into fashion, entertainment, and public culture.

Genesis AI has unveiled Eno, its first general-purpose robot, as the company pushes toward building machines that can work across factories, laboratories, hospitals, hotels and eventually homes.

The robot combines Genesis AI’s custom hardware with GENE, the company’s robotics foundation model, which serves as Eno’s control system. According to the company, the robot is designed to perform complex tasks, adapt to changing environments and complete objectives with minimal human intervention.

Genesis AI said Eno differs from traditional industrial robots because it is built to operate as a physical agent rather than execute a fixed set of commands. The company claims the system can understand goals, reason through changing conditions, retain memory and carry out multi-step tasks over extended periods.

The announcement comes as companies across the robotics sector race to develop humanoid and general-purpose robots capable of handling a wider range of real-world jobs with less specialized programming.

Built beyond humanoids

Instead of closely resembling a human, Eno uses a wheeled base topped by an adjustable tower structure. The robot can change its height and reach in real time and fold into a more compact form when not in use.

Its most human-like features are its robotic hands. Genesis AI says the hands match the form and function of human hands, allowing Eno to use existing tools and interact with environments already designed for people.

“The only path to creating a robot that can truly deliver value to society and excel in the real world is through intentional design and a single, comprehensive system,” said Zhou Xian, co-founder and CEO of Genesis AI.

“From day one we’ve approached our design and engineering through a production mindset built around bringing our hardware, software and intelligence together as a whole.”

The company said Eno was designed alongside GENE so that the robot’s body and intelligence system function as a single platform. GENE is intended to give the robot human-level dexterity and the ability to handle long-horizon tasks that require planning and adaptation.

Showing robotic intent

One of Eno’s distinguishing features is an optional built-in screen that displays the robot’s reasoning process, operational status and intended actions in real time.

Genesis AI said the feature is designed to improve transparency and help people understand what the robot is doing as it works alongside human operators.

“What Genesis is building with Eno is a fundamentally new model for extending human capability through advanced robotics,” said Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and Genesis AI investor.

“The breakthrough is not replacing human expertise, but amplifying it — making advanced robotics genuinely useful, accessible, and scalable across industries.”

According to the company, Eno could eventually manage entire workflows rather than perform isolated actions. Examples include keeping production lines supplied, coordinating tasks across facilities and preparing workspaces for the next shift.

Genesis AI plans to begin production and targeted customer deployments before the end of 2026. Initial deployments will focus on manufacturing, logistics and laboratory environments, followed by hospitality and healthcare settings. Consumer-focused applications are expected at a later stage.

The company recently raised $105 million in seed funding and says additional robotic platforms are already under development as part of its broader roadmap for general-purpose robotics.

💾

An engineer has developed an open-source ceiling-mounted robotic claw designed to tackle one of the constant challenges of family life—cleaning up clutter.

Called Stringman, the system uses cables suspended from four corners of a room to move a robotic gripper across the ceiling, locating and collecting items such as toys, clothing, and other household mess.

Powered by LeRobot-based firmware, the robot can identify objects, pick them up, and transport them to designated drop-off points.

According to its maker, the project’s software, hardware designs, and build instructions are available on GitHub. At the same time, ready-to-use kits are also being offered for users who prefer not to build the system themselves.

Stringman tackles clutter

The DIY cleaning robot is designed to tackle one of the most common household challenges—clutter left behind by children and pets.

Stringman is a cable-driven robotic crane that moves across a room using high-strength lines suspended from anchors mounted in its four corners. Rather than relying on a humanoid design or a mobile robot, Stringman uses a lightweight gripper that travels through the room’s airspace, identifying and collecting objects from the floor before transporting them to designated drop-off locations.

The project was created by Nathaniel Nifong, who believes many household tasks can be automated without the complexity and cost associated with humanoid robots. According to the project’s website, reducing the number of actuators significantly lowers the overall cost of robotics hardware. Stringman relies on just four motors and a two-finger gripper with a wrist mechanism, allowing it to perform basic pick-and-place tasks while remaining relatively affordable.

The robot is built on the open-source LeRobot platform and uses imitation learning to improve its grasping capabilities. Users can train the system through teleoperation, teaching it how to pick up various household objects. The software, firmware, mechanical designs, and build instructions are publicly available under an Apache 2.0 license, allowing enthusiasts to build, modify, and contribute to the project.

To organize items, users simply designate destinations such as laundry baskets, toy bins, or trash cans using clip-on fiducial markers. Stringman’s vision system maps these locations and generates a list of objects it believes should be collected. Users can review and modify these selections through an interface or manually click objects they want the robot to remove.

Open-source robot

One of the system’s biggest advantages is its reach. Unlike robotic arms that are confined to a limited workspace, Stringman can access much of an entire room. Its cable-driven architecture enables it to move from floor-level pickups to elevated shelves without requiring rails, wheels, or articulated limbs. Because it is powered directly from a wall outlet, it also avoids the charging downtime that limits many mobile robots.

The design incorporates active swing-cancellation algorithms to stabilize the gripper as it moves. This is particularly important because the gripper hangs approximately 50 centimeters below the suspension point, allowing it to reach beneath furniture and alongside obstacles. The software continuously compensates for momentum, helping maintain accurate positioning during movement, according to its website.

Privacy has also been a focus of the project. Stringman supports a fully local operating mode in which video processing and telemetry remain within the home network. Users who prefer remote access can connect the robot to an online account and monitor or control it through a web-based interface.

Despite its promise, the system remains a work in progress. The machine-vision models still require refinement, and certain objects—particularly flat items such as books—can be difficult for the gripper to handle reliably. The suspended cables also descend into the room while the robot is operating, creating practical limitations for occupied spaces.

Even with these challenges, Stringman represents an intriguing alternative to humanoid domestic robots. By focusing on a single household task and simplifying the hardware, the project demonstrates how practical home automation may emerge from specialized, low-cost designs rather than human-shaped machines. Future developments could potentially allow the robot not only to collect clutter into bins but also to return items directly to their proper storage locations.

💾

China’s robot schools are training humanoids through repetition, VR-guided demonstrations, and shared data to prepare them for real-world work.

An elephant's trunk is both strong and capable of extremely fine motor movements. With this muscular, boneless structure, an elephant can carry heavy logs—or deftly peel a banana. Lucia Beccai and colleagues studied the skin of the trunk, hoping to understand its properties and derive lessons for the next generation of advanced soft robotics. The authors obtained a trunk from a single adult Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) that died of natural causes at Zurich Zoo, Switzerland, in 2020.

Alibaba launched Qwen Robot Suite, its first suite of AI models designed to help robots navigate, manipulate objects, and predict physical outcomes.

ABB Robotics has partnered with California-based bionic company PSYONIC to develop more dexterous robotic systems by leveraging real-world data from human prosthetic use.

The collaboration combines PSYONIC’s Ability Hand, a touch-sensitive prosthetic hand, with ABB’s GoFa collaborative robot to study how human-generated touch and motion data can train robots to perform delicate and variable tasks.

The initiative aims to address one of industrial robotics’ biggest challenges—grasping and manipulation—while improving automation capabilities and potentially reducing engineering time for handling applications by up to 30 percent.

“Human dexterity and the instinctive understanding of how to handle different objects is one of the most difficult things to replicate in industrial-grade robotics, but it’s a fundamental need for truly autonomous and versatile robots,” said Marc Segura, President, ABB Robotics, in a statement.

Human data dexterity

ABB Robotics and PSYONIC aims to tackle one of the biggest challenges in industrial automation: robotic dexterity. The collaboration combines ABB’s GoFa collaborative robot with PSYONIC’s Ability Hand, an advanced prosthetic hand equipped with touch sensing and compliant design, to train robots using real-world manipulation data generated by human prosthetic users.

Unlike conventional robotic training methods that rely heavily on simulations, the project uses human-derived touch and motion data to teach robots how to grasp, manipulate and interact with objects more naturally. The approach is aimed at improving robots’ ability to perform delicate, variable tasks that have traditionally been difficult to automate, such as handling fragile components, adapting to changing object shapes and operating in dynamic environments.

The initiative supports ABB Robotics’ vision for Autonomous Versatile Robotics (AVR), where robots can sense, reason, move and manipulate objects with greater autonomy. It also contributes to the development of physical AI systems capable of learning from real-world interactions and applying that knowledge with industrial-grade reliability.

According to ABB, dexterity remains a major technical bottleneck in robotics, and improved handling capabilities could reduce engineering time for automation projects by up to 30 percent. The companies are exploring applications across sectors including automotive, aerospace, packaging, logistics and life sciences.

PSYONIC is working closely with ABB’s research and development team to integrate touch-enabled manipulation technologies into robotic platforms. The partnership aims to narrow the gap between human and robotic dexterity, enabling more adaptable, productive and safer automation systems for industrial environments.

Touch powered robotics

The ABB GoFa is a collaborative robot designed to work safely alongside humans in manufacturing, assembly, material handling, packaging, and laboratory environments.

It can handle payloads of up to 26 pounds (12 kilograms) and reach up to 1.62 meters, offering a combination of speed, precision, and flexibility. Built-in force and power limitation technology enables safe human-robot collaboration with minimal safety barriers, while intuitive programming tools simplify deployment. With repeatability of up to 0.02 mm, GoFa is well suited for precision tasks and improving productivity.

On the other hand, the Psyonic Ability Hand is an advanced bionic prosthetic that provides multi-touch sensory feedback, helping users experience a more natural sense of touch. Its 200-millisecond closing speed allows fast, secure grasping, while 32 grip patterns—19 pre-programmed—support activities ranging from handling small objects to typing. The hand automatically adjusts thumb positioning for a stable grip and can be configured remotely via Bluetooth-enabled iPhone and Android apps.

Powered by a 2200mAh battery, it charges through USB-C in about an hour and delivers 6–8 hours of use. Its durable, IP64-rated design resists impacts, dust, and splashes. Beyond prosthetics, organizations such as NASA, Meta, and Apptronik use it for robotics research.

💾

Alibaba’s First Robot Models Alibaba moved its AI off the screen on Tuesday. The Chinese tech and e-commerce

Elon Musk’s trillionaire milestone raises a bigger AI question: Will the future belong to the best models or the companies that own the infrastructure behind them?

A bird bursting from the ocean or a mobula ray launching skyward makes the transition from water to air look effortless. For unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, it's one of the hardest maneuvers to replicate.

New reports suggest that Boston Dynamics’ Atlas is approaching the autonomy needed for industrial deployment.

The assessment follows recent demonstrations by Boston Dynamics that indicate significant progress in developing general intelligence.

Experts suggest advancements now enable humanoid robots to adapt to unfamiliar environments and perform a broader range of tasks beyond preprogrammed actions.

Recently, the US robotics firm launched a campaign featuring Atlas, using football to showcase human-centered robotics, AI, and human-robot interaction.

Atlas gains intelligence

Boston Dynamics is making rapid progress toward commercializing humanoid robots, with its Atlas platform approaching the level of autonomy required for industrial deployment, according to a new report from KB Securities.

Analyst Kang Sung-jin said recent demonstrations by Boston Dynamics, Hyundai Motor Group’s US-based robotics subsidiary, point to major advances in the development of humanoid robot “general intelligence” — the ability to adapt to unfamiliar environments and perform a broad range of tasks without relying solely on preprogrammed instructions, reports The Korean Herald (TKH).

A key factor behind this progress is the company’s accelerated training framework. According to the report, Boston Dynamics can run simulations equivalent to millions of hours of robot training in a single day. The resulting behaviors and skills can then be transferred to a physical Atlas robot in roughly one hour, significantly shortening development cycles and enabling faster deployment of new capabilities.

The report credits strategic collaborations with Google DeepMind and Nvidia for helping drive these advancements. DeepMind contributes expertise in artificial intelligence and learning systems, while Nvidia provides the high-performance computing infrastructure needed for large-scale simulation and robot training.

Recent Atlas demonstrations also highlight notable improvements in physical intelligence and whole-body control. In one example, the humanoid robot moved a refrigerator using coordinated movements across its entire body, while another video showed Atlas performing dynamic kicking motions that required balance, agility, and precise motor control, reports TKH.

Kang said the demonstrations reinforce Hyundai Motor Group’s commitment to industrial humanoid robotics and position Boston Dynamics as a leading contender in the emerging market. He projects the company could secure 15 percent of the global humanoid robot market by 2035 and as much as 60 percent of the premium industrial humanoid segment.

Atlas industrial leap

Boston Dynamics says one of the key advantages of its new Atlas humanoid robot is a significantly reduced “sim-to-real gap” — a common robotics challenge where skills learned in simulation fail to transfer reliably to the physical world. The company attributes this improvement to Atlas’ simplified hardware design, which makes it easier to create highly accurate simulations for training.

Unlike many humanoid robots that use numerous actuator types and complex mechanical systems, Atlas relies on just two actuator types across its body. Its arms and legs are also designed symmetrically, simplifying both control and simulation. This streamlined architecture allows engineers to train the robot more efficiently in virtual environments and rapidly transfer those capabilities to the real machine.

Boston Dynamics also redesigned Atlas to eliminate cables running across joints, enabling continuous joint rotation while reducing wear and maintenance requirements. The added flexibility allows the robot to perform movements that are difficult for conventional humanoids.

The company highlighted Atlas’s ability to handle heavy industrial tasks. Although the robot was trained using loads weighing between 50 and 70 pounds (23–32 kilograms), it successfully moved a refrigerator weighing more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms) during testing. According to Boston Dynamics, such tasks require more than visual perception, demanding full-body coordination, weight anticipation, balance, and precise force control.

The company added that Atlas’s athletic feats, including handstands and backflips, serve a practical purpose by helping develop balance, agility, slip recovery, and endurance needed for real-world industrial environments.

💾

A mobile robot developed by Samsung-controlled Rainbow Robotics has reportedly begun testing inside a Coupang fulfillment center, marking what could be its first deployment in a live commercial warehouse environment.

According to a report by The Korea Herald, Coupang is evaluating Rainbow Robotics’ RB-Y1 robot to determine whether it can reliably sort, transport, and handle goods within one of South Korea’s highly automated logistics networks. While neither Coupang, Samsung, nor Rainbow Robotics has publicly confirmed the pilot, industry sources told ETNews that a larger deployment could follow if the tests prove successful.

The reported trial represents an important step for the RB-Y1, which until now has primarily been used by universities, research institutions, and industrial partners for testing and development.

A different kind of humanoid

Unlike the bipedal humanoid robots grabbing headlines worldwide, the RB-Y1 takes a more practical approach. The machine combines a wheeled autonomous mobile base with a dual-arm upper body designed to mimic the movement of a human torso. 

The robot stands approximately 1.4 meters tall and weighs 131 kilograms. Its two robotic arms offer seven degrees of freedom each and can handle payloads of up to 3 kilograms per arm.

Mounted on a high-speed wheeled platform capable of traveling at 1.5 meters per second, the robot is designed to navigate warehouses, factories, and research facilities while performing tasks such as picking, sorting, and manipulating objects.

Rainbow Robotics says the platform uses a 20-axis whole-body control system to maintain stability during movement and when handling items. The company also developed collision-avoidance software that prevents the robot’s arms from interfering with each other during operation.

Why Coupang is interested

For Coupang, South Korea’s largest e-commerce company, warehouse automation has become increasingly important as the company seeks to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs.

The company has invested heavily in robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence in recent years. According to The Korea Herald, Coupang has invested more than $84 million in global AI startups since 2023 as part of broader efforts to modernize its logistics infrastructure.

The potential benefits extend beyond productivity. South Korea’s Serious Accidents Punishment Act holds executives legally accountable for fatal workplace accidents, creating additional incentives for companies to automate potentially hazardous tasks.

With a payload capacity better suited to lighter goods than heavy lifting, the RB-Y1 would likely be deployed for sorting, picking, and moving smaller items if the pilot progresses to commercial use.

Samsung’s growing robotics ambitions

The trial also highlights Samsung’s expanding ambitions in robotics. Samsung increased its stake in Rainbow Robotics to 35 percent before making the company a subsidiary, identifying robotics as one of its next major growth areas alongside artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductors.

The move comes as South Korea continues to lead the world in industrial automation. According to the International Federation of Robotics, the country has the highest robot density globally, with roughly 1,012 industrial robots for every 10,000 manufacturing workers. More than seven times the global average.

If the Coupang pilot proves successful, it could provide one of the clearest signs yet that advanced mobile manipulators are beginning to transition from research laboratories into large-scale commercial logistics operations.

Engineers attached a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket to the company’s Stargazer aircraft at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Friday, June 12.

The rocket will carry LINK, a robotic servicing spacecraft from Katalyst Space, into orbit ahead of an attempt to boost NASA’s sinking Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

All spacecraft in low Earth orbit experience drag caused by our planet’s atmosphere, which gradually reduces their altitudes unless they have propulsion systems to counteract the effect.

A recent bout of solar activity magnified this effect on Swift, and its orbit has lowered faster than anticipated.

Katalyst selected Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket as the best launch option for reaching the observatory in time for LINK to perform the boost procedure, based on the mission’s orbital and programmatic needs. Northrop Grumman will deploy the rocket using Stargazer, the company’s modified L-1011 airplane.

LINK will launch from Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, later this month.

Learn more about the Swift boost:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/swift-boost-mission/

By Jeanette Kazmierczak
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

The post Rocket Attached to Aircraft for Katalyst-NASA Swift Boost appeared first on NASA Science.

San Bernardino County Fire added a HawkRobo robot dog to help map buildings, assess hazardous scenes, and support search-and-rescue operations.

Controlling a robotic arm, a prosthetic hand or a rehabilitation device is harder than it looks. Picking up an egg, for example, requires just the right amount of force: too little and it falls, too much and it breaks.

The Social Robotics Group of the Robotics Lab at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has developed an AI-based methodology that allows a pet-type assistive robot to recognize the people it interacts with. The prototype, named Mía, is being tested in Madrid City Council day centers for the personalized affective stimulation of elderly people with cognitive decline.

Japan’s tiny SORA-Q rover showed what happened when SLIM landed upside down.

A Tawniese firm has unveiled its first humanoid robot capable of interacting with the physical world.

TM Technology, known primarily for integrated circuit design, has expanded its operations into sectors such as construction, green energy, and smart manufacturing, with support from its parent, Yinglin Group.

TM Technology said the humanoid robot combines advanced hardware and software as part of a broader intelligent platform strategy, representing a significant step in its efforts to develop next-generation AI-powered robotic systems.

Recently, Techman Robot from Taiwan unveiled its TM Xplore I humanoid at Nvidia GTC 2026 in San Jose, highlighting a collaboration with QCT and Nvidia.

Embodied AI emerges

As per reports, TM Technology’s newly unveiled humanoid robot combines AI, advanced manufacturing, biomimetic engineering, and multi-modal sensing technologies to operate in complex real-world environments. Designed as an embodied AI system, the robot features a layered architecture that mirrors key functions of the human nervous system.

At its core is an AI-powered “brain” responsible for semantic understanding, reasoning, task planning, and decision-making. A dedicated “cerebellum” subsystem manages balance, posture control, locomotion, and coordinated movement, enabling the robot to perform tasks with greater stability and precision. The platform also incorporates a sophisticated perception suite that combines 3D vision systems, LiDAR sensors, and force-sensing technology to create a detailed understanding of its surroundings and support real-time interaction, reports Taiwan News (TN).

The humanoid is equipped with multi-degree-of-freedom joints and dexterous robotic hands, enabling it to manipulate objects and perform a wide range of physical tasks. According to the company, the robot can handle transportation, inspection, assembly, and other precision operations that require coordinated motion and environmental awareness. Unlike traditional industrial robots that follow pre-programmed routines, the system is designed to adapt to changing conditions through learning-based interaction and intelligent decision-making.

TM Technology said the development marks a shift from conventional hardware manufacturing toward integrated intelligent platforms. The company expects initial deployment in factories and logistics environments, where autonomous robots can assist with repetitive and labor-intensive tasks, before expanding into healthcare, caregiving, and household service applications as the technology matures, reports TN.

Taiwan’s humanoid push

Another Taiwanese firm, Techman Robot, recently unveiled its next-generation humanoid robot, TM Xplore I. The robot reflects Techman’s strategy of combining artificial intelligence with industrial automation under its “See · Think · Act – Powered by AI Robotics” framework.

Unlike traditional bipedal humanoids, TM Xplore I features a humanoid upper body mounted on a wheeled mobile base, a design intended to improve stability, mobility, and operational reliability in factory environments. The platform combines autonomous navigation with dexterous manipulation, enabling it to transport materials, interact with workers, and perform precision tasks in industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, electronics assembly, and automotive production.

The robot is powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Thor computing module, providing high-performance edge AI capabilities for real-time decision-making. It also incorporates Vision-Language-Action (VLA) technology, allowing it to process visual and language inputs simultaneously and translate them into physical actions. Techman’s software stack supports multimodal sensor fusion, generative AI inference, and autonomous operation.

TM Xplore I further leverages Nvidia’s robotics ecosystem, including Isaac Sim for simulation-based training and testing, FoundationStereo for AI-powered depth perception, and Isaac GR00T for enhanced dexterity and autonomy. Together, these technologies enable faster deployment, improved adaptability, and more efficient automation in smart manufacturing environments.

💾

China has reportedly deployed its first domestic AI-driven marine welding system at a smart manufacturing base in Tianjin.

Developed by Offshore Oil Engineering Co., the robotic system is designed to handle highly complex, customized, and heavy welding scenarios for offshore oil and gas platforms.

The robot is fully capable of handling specialized offshore components, including module nodes, buckle rings, and deepwater jacket strengthening rings.

20 years of life

Automotive manufacturing was long seen as the peak of robotic welding precision due to its uniform parts, but marine engineering presents a much tougher challenge. 

Marine welders handle massive, oddly shaped, and heavy components such as deepwater jacket strengthening rings and module nodes. All these tasks require a far higher level of adaptive, heavy-duty automation. This new AI-driven system aims to solve this. 

Built for extreme heavy-duty manufacturing, the system has a 20-year service life and a massive 30-ton maximum load capacity. Global Times reported that it can slice through and fuse steel up to 70 millimeters thick. Moreover, it has an overall operational efficiency exceeding 40 percent. 

Equipped with artificial intelligence, visual weld seam recognition, and intelligent 3D laser vision alignment, the mechanical arm scans its environment in real time. It maps out a custom multi-layer path-planning strategy for each unique piece of steel.

With just a single command, the robot automatically handles the entire welding process from start to finish. It manages tasks independently, using real-time data to seal the initial root pass and automatically correct its trajectory on the go.

“The robots can be activated with a single click to complete intelligent welding of product components, and are equipped with functions such as intelligent weld path correction, intelligent root pass welding, and dual-sided four-wire intelligent filling,” the company stated in an earlier release.

Plus, the AI’s precision ensures a first-pass qualification rate of over 98 percent, thereby eliminating the need for costly, time-consuming structural re-work.

AI-powered marine welder

Getting the system factory-ready was a grueling trial by fire. Before entering full active duty, the robot system underwent nearly 10 months of on-site debugging to ensure it could withstand the harsh realities of a shipyard. 

The engineering team pushed the technology to its limits, conducting roughly 1,000 rigorous welding experiments to fine-tune the AI before clearing it for the front lines of manufacturing.

Reportedly, the advanced welder isn’t working alone. An independently developed intelligent grinding robot was deployed right alongside it. 

Using cutting-edge technologies such as intelligent visual positioning and real-time force-control compensation, this autonomous companion ensures the steel is perfectly prepped and finished. 

The grinding robot has already proven its worth on the shop floor, successfully processing more than 500 steel sections while clocking a sleek 15 percent boost in operational efficiency.

It solves the issues of poor accessibility and difficult precision control, allowing the robot to execute complex spatial welds on massive structures where human operators and standard machinery struggle.

Driven by China’s expanding “AI Plus” initiative, heavy industry is rapidly moving from dangerous, labor-intensive shipyards into highly automated, self-correcting digital ecosystems. For human crews, this transformation removes them from hazardous sparks and toxic fumes, shifting their roles from manual laborers to supervisors of a faster, tireless robotic workforce.

💾

A Unitree G1 humanoid robot is being prepared for a planned Mount Everest expedition later this year after taking part in a high-altitude test on Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador.

The robot, named Pemba, was provided by Eastworlds Labs, the AI robotics initiative of Virtuals Protocol. It was part of a Geologic Dome expedition that placed the robot at 20,312 feet on June 5, 2026.

The Chimborazo mission is being treated as an early test before the planned Everest trek in the fall. Mount Chimborazo is known for a unique geographical fact. Its summit is the farthest point from Earth’s center and the closest point to the Sun on Earth.

Eastworlds Labs said the expedition supports its larger goal of bringing autonomous AI agents into the physical world.

The team also documented the mission and plans to create a trailer for the Everest expedition. The project is working with the production crew behind Netflix’s 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible.

Everest is the next challenge

The planned Mount Everest trek will take the project into one of the world’s most difficult mountain environments.

For Eastworlds Labs and Geologic Dome, the aim is not only to place a robot in extreme terrain.

The larger goal is to test whether humanoid robots can support conservation, research, and monitoring in places that are hard or dangerous for people to reach often.

According to Eastworlds Labs, the Unitree G1 robot will be donated to the local Sherpa community for the Everest expedition. The company said this will connect the project’s legacy to the region where the next mission will take place.

The Everest plan follows the Chimborazo expedition, where Pemba was the only humanoid robot used. The Unitree G1 weighs 77 pounds (35 kg) and can fold down to 690 mm, which made it easier to transport through difficult terrain.

During the Ecuador mission, the team disassembled the robot and carried it between camps. It was then reassembled at different stages of the journey.

Chimborazo test pushed the robot

Mount Chimborazo gave the team a difficult test before Everest.

Temperatures on the mountain can fall to 5 degree Fahrenheit (-15°C), while wind gusts can reach 55 miles per hour (90 km/h). To help the robot handle these conditions, the Unitree G1 was fitted with custom cold-weather jackets, gated enclosures, and composite feet.

The robot’s autonomy system was trained in NVIDIA Isaac Sim at 1,620 times real-time speed. Eastworlds Labs said the system achieved 85 percent sim-to-real transfer on uneven terrain.

The robot was also pretrained to respond to wind turbulence and recover its balance on technical alpine terrain.

Communication during the expedition was supported by a proprietary mesh relay across camps. Satellite internet at each camp delivered 25 ms latency. This stayed below the 50 ms limit needed for live teleoperation with Reflex’s latency software.

Conservation goal behind the mission

The Everest plan is part of Geologic Dome’s broader conservation work.

The organization is building autonomous infrastructure for conservation zones. This includes communication relays, AI-powered ecological monitoring, and energy-independent robotic platforms.

Eastworlds Labs said it sponsored the Chimborazo expedition and is also contributing funding toward Geologic Dome’s nature conservation work.

Geologic Dome is currently testing its approach across three sites. These include equatorial forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, montane cloud forests in Ecuador, and the full Himalayan altitude gradient in Nepal.