Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Google DeepMind made new computer software for robots. It is called Gemini Robotics 2.
Old robot software could only move a robot's arms well. This new software can move a robot's whole body.
The robot can walk, bend, and pick things up. It was shown using a robot named Apollo 2.
The robot could unscrew a light bulb most of the time. But some small jobs, like tying a bag, were still hard for it.
- software
- computer programs that tell a machine what to do
- humanoid robot
- a robot built to look and move like a human
- whole-body
- using every part of the body together, not just one part
- coordination
- the way different body parts work together smoothly
- manipulate
- to handle or move objects skillfully with the hands
- dexterity
- skill in using the hands to do small, careful tasks
- unscrew
- to turn something to loosen or remove it
- demonstrate
- to show how something works
Level 2 — Elementary
Google DeepMind has unveiled Gemini Robotics 2, a new suite of AI models designed to give humanoid robots much greater control over their entire bodies.
Unlike the previous version, which mainly controlled a robot's upper body and arms, Gemini Robotics 2 can direct an entire humanoid from head to toe, including walking, crouching, bending, and manipulating objects.
The system was demonstrated on Apptronik's Apollo 2 humanoid robot, which walked across a room, picked up objects, and placed them on shelves while navigating around obstacles and reasoning through each step in real time.
In tests, the robot successfully unscrewed a light bulb 92 percent of the time, a task that requires precise full-body balance. However, trickier jobs proved much harder, with success rates dropping to around 44 percent for tying a trash bag and 40 percent for sealing a ziplock bag.
- suite
- a set of related computer programs or tools
- upper body
- the part of the body above the waist, including the arms and chest
- navigate
- to find a way through or around a space
- obstacle
- something that blocks or gets in the way of movement
- reason
- to think through a problem in order to make a decision
- precise
- exact and accurate
- balance
- the ability to stay steady and not fall over
- success rate
- the percentage of times something works correctly
Level 3 — Intermediate
Google DeepMind has introduced Gemini Robotics 2, a suite of AI models built to grant humanoid and other robots far greater autonomy through whole-body control, advanced dexterity, and multi-robot collaboration, marking a significant departure from earlier systems that primarily governed a robot's upper body.
The suite comprises three components: Gemini Robotics 2 itself, a vision-language-action model that converts visual and language inputs into full-body robot movements; Gemini Robotics ER 2, which serves as a reasoning layer helping robots interpret scenes and plan multi-step tasks; and Gemini Robotics On-Device 2, designed to run locally on robot hardware with reduced reliance on remote computing.
In a demonstration involving Apptronik's Apollo 2 humanoid, the system directed the robot through walking, crouching, bending, and object manipulation while navigating obstacles and reasoning through complex tasks in real time, achieving a 92 percent success rate on the demanding task of unscrewing a light bulb.
Performance proved considerably less consistent on finer dexterity challenges, however, with success rates of roughly 68 percent for picking objects up from a table, 46 percent from the floor, and 76 percent from a shelf, underscoring that even as whole-body coordination advances, fine manipulation remains a persistent bottleneck for humanoid robotics.
- autonomy
- the ability to act and make decisions independently
- collaboration
- the act of working together with others toward a shared goal
- vision-language-action model
- an AI system that converts visual and language information directly into physical actions
- reasoning layer
- a part of an AI system responsible for planning and interpreting information
- locally
- on the device itself, rather than relying on a remote server
- consistent
- staying the same or reliable across different attempts
- manipulation
- the skillful handling or controlling of objects
- bottleneck
- a point where progress is slowed or limited
Level 4 — Advanced
Google DeepMind has unveiled Gemini Robotics 2, a suite of artificial intelligence models engineered to confer greater autonomy on humanoid and other robots through whole-body control, refined dexterity, and multi-robot collaboration, representing a substantial departure from predecessor systems that were largely confined to governing a robot's upper body.
The suite is architecturally composed of three distinct components: the flagship Gemini Robotics 2, a vision-language-action model that translates visual and linguistic inputs into full-body robotic movement; Gemini Robotics ER 2, a reasoning layer that enables scene interpretation and multi-step task planning; and Gemini Robotics On-Device 2, engineered to execute locally on robot hardware and thereby diminish dependence on remote computational infrastructure.
In a demonstration involving Apptronik's Apollo 2 humanoid, the system orchestrated walking, crouching, bending, and object manipulation while the robot navigated obstacles and reasoned through multi-step tasks in real time, registering a 92 percent success rate on the exacting task of unscrewing a light bulb, a benchmark requiring precise full-body coordination.
Performance proved markedly less uniform across finer dexterity challenges, with success rates of approximately 68 percent retrieving objects from a table, 46 percent from the floor, and 76 percent from a shelf, results that illustrate how, notwithstanding substantial gains in whole-body coordination, granular manipulation continues to constitute the principal constraint on humanoid robotic performance.
- confer
- to grant or give a particular quality or ability to someone or something
- architecturally
- in terms of the underlying structure or design of a system
- flagship
- the most important or best-known product in a group made by the same company
- orchestrate
- to carefully organize and coordinate a complex activity
- exacting
- demanding great effort, precision, or care
- benchmark
- a standard or point of reference used to measure or judge performance
- granular
- involving very small, fine details
- constraint
- a limitation or restriction on what can be achieved
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