Russia’s AIdol Robot Crashes Seconds Into Moscow Debut
Russia’s push into AI humanoid robots hit a literal snag last month. The country’s first homegrown model, AIdol from startup Aidol, toppled face-first on stage during its official unveiling in Moscow. GenK covered the scene at Yarovit Hall on November 10: staff escorted the robot onstage under close watch, it tried a simple wave to the crowd, then lost balance and slammed down.
Quick Cover-Up and Cleanup
Techs struggled to stand it back up. They ended up draping a black cloth over it and carrying it off like a casualty, halting the show early. Aidol CEO Vladimir Vitukhin called it “a lesson learned,” per GenK. The bot boasts 77% Russian-made parts and offline AI for object handling, flexible movement, and natural chat—but none of that shone through.
Video of the wobbly walk and crash, set to Rocky theme music, blew up online. El Comercio Perú noted Aidol devs spun the fall as “real-time learning.” A week later, a different Russian humanoid called Green danced smoothly in front of Vladimir Putin at a Sberbank tech expo. Green claimed to be Russia’s first with built-in AI body smarts; Putin called it “very nice,” though security stayed close.
Not the First Russian Robot Embarrassment
This echoes past flops. GenK recalled a 2018 Yaroslavl science forum where “advanced” robot Boris turned out to be a guy in a suit. Mezha recently highlighted Iran’s tech expo “humanoids”—just actors in robot costumes—while nodding to AIdol’s short stumble to Rocky tunes.
- AIdol: Fell on wave attempt, black cloth exit (GenK).
- Green: Putin dance success (El Comercio Perú).
- History: Fake Boris (2018), Iranian suits (recent).
Russia’s robot ambitions keep drawing eyes, but demos like AIdol’s remind everyone: walking straight stays tough.
