New Delhi: The first humanoid robot with artificial intelligence inside its system crashed face-first during its first appearance before the audience in Moscow, and this event became a dramatic and unforgettable introduction of the first artificial intelligence humanoid robot in Russia. The robot was named AIdol and entered the stage with triumphant music only to lose his balance in several seconds, which caused gasps, laughter, and a viral wave of online responses. The performance, which took place on 10 November at the Yarovit Hall Congress Centre, soon became an unintentional display with workers coming to the aid of the broken machine and pulling down the curtains to cover it by spectators.
Nevertheless, the unveiling was also an important event in the history of the robotics sector in Russia, which is looking to make a break in the world competition in humanoid technologies. According to developers, the fall was the learning curve, and humanoid robots need a great deal of calibration, particularly when first being tested. The incident has sparked off controversy on whether Russia is willing to challenge the established leaders in the U.S. and Japan.
Russia’s first AI humanoid robot falls flat on its face seconds after its grand public debut. pic.twitter.com/ITY9YdFLGm
— Mark R. Hinkle (@mrhinkle) November 12, 2025
A lesson in balance and humility
Idol CEO Vladimir Vitukhin explained the fall by saying that it was a natural process in real-time learning. According to him, the robot is still under test, and the problem was probably caused by a calibration problem. As a precaution, engineers took AIdol off the stage to check its balance systems and control software. Nevertheless, regardless of the dramatic incident, the company declared that it still believes in the development of embodied AI, which is aimed at developing movable, interactive, and emotional robots to respond to humans.
Inside AIdol: What the robot can do?
AIdol has a 48-volt battery that provides a maximum of six hours of power. It has 77 per cent of its parts made in Russia, according to Idol, and plans to have it at 100 per cent in future versions. The robot has 19 servomotors and can show various emotions and micro-expressions by being shown using silicone skin, resembling the movements of the human face. According to developers, AIdol is able to stroll, manage items, and communicate with human beings, meaning that it could be of use in industries like automotive manufacturing, warehousing, medicine, and entertainment.
The memes and jokes onsocial media were like a storm after the fall. Users likened the movements of AIdol to someone who has fallen after drinking too much vodka, and others thought that the team anticipated the robot to fall. Nevertheless, there were numerous commentators who came to its defence, pointing out that failure in the initial stages is normal in robotics. Others even made parallels to the early blooper reels of Boston Dynamics and reminded its viewers that innovation machines usually begin with clumsy failures.
The launch of AIdol happened only days after Tesla was able to demonstrate its Optimus robot at an event in Texas. Although the robot that Russia landed on the spot in a less dramatic way, the engineers reported that every failure is a step towards perfecting the technology. To date, the downfall of AIdol provided the world with a lesson to be remembered: be it a human being or a machine, learning to walk is seldom a perfect task on the very first attempt.