Russia's AIDOL Robot Falls at Moscow Debut

In Moscow on Tuesday, Russia's first domestically produced AI-powered humanoid robot, AIDOL, made a highly anticipated debut that quickly turned into an embarrassing mishap when it lost its balance and fell face-first during a technology showcase at the Yarovit Hall Congress Center.

The event drew around 50 journalists to witness the robot's introduction by its developer, a company also named AIDOL, founded in 2023 by entrepreneur Vladimir Vitukhin. As the iconic Rocky theme song played, AIDOL staggered onto the stage, flanked by two technicians. The bipedal machine shuffled forward, raised its right arm in a wave to the audience, and took a few unsteady steps before toppling over. Pieces of the robot scattered across the floor as it writhed briefly on the ground. Organizers rushed onstage, switched it off, and attempted to shield the scene with a black sheet while dragging the unit away. The sheet became tangled, leaving the incident fully visible to onlookers.

A moment of silence followed the fall, according to Dmitry Filonov, editor in chief of Edinorog Media, who attended the demonstration. "Then they began to applaud to show their support," Filonov said in a text message....