Ready For Tomorrow #80

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Welcome to the newest episode of Ready for Tomorrow. Grab your coffee, take a breath, and let’s step together into another week of discoveries. The world of robotics keeps moving, and I’m glad you’re here to share the ride.

Google DeepMind unveils next-gen robotics AI: Gemini Robotics 1.5 and Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5

What’s new here? Robots are no longer just following instructions. They “think” before acting, planning step-by-step sequences, tapping into the internet (like Google Search), interpreting their surroundings, and then carrying out physical tasks, all within one system.

This means robots can now handle complex jobs such as sorting laundry by color, packing a suitcase based on local weather, or separating waste according to regional recycling rules.

Fun fact: skills learned by one robot (for example the ALOHA2 model) can be transferred to another robot with a completely different build, without retraining.

As of today, Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5 is available more broadly via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio, while the flagship version is being rolled out to selected partners.

This marks a major step toward robots that don’t just react, but understand, plan, and act autonomously.

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Kepler Robotics kicks off mass production of humanoid K2 "Bumblebee"

Kepler Robotics has announced the start of mass production of the humanoid K2 "Bumblebee", which quite openly takes inspiration from Tesla’s designs.

The model stands 175 cm tall, weighs 75 kg, can lift up to 15 kg in each hand, and operates for 8 hours. Kepler claims that thousands of pre-orders are already being placed.

Interestingly, the company admits that the robot’s "hybrid architecture" is modeled after Tesla’s solutions. Even the name "Bumblebee" is a nod to Tesla’s early Optimus prototypes.

Experts warn, though: this approach carries a risk. What happens if you copy an architecture that its original creator is already replacing with a better version?

And a little extra: the robot is bright yellow, making it impossible not to associate it with Bumblebee from Transformers. It even looks like it is about to say: “Sam, I’m here to protect you.”

This is an important moment in the race for the first commercial humanoid. Will this "Tesla clone" win over the market?

From China: the humanoid Unitree G1 shows off Anti-Gravity mode

Here’s a fresh one from China: the humanoid Unitree G1 has demonstrated an Anti-Gravity mode that allows it to survive falls and get back up instantly.

And let me be honest. It has been a long time since I watched a robot video and said out loud: “Oh wow!” But this time, I really did.

In the video, the robot falls over what feels like a million times. Someone pushes it, nudges it, throws it to the ground. Yet every single time, the whole scene lasts only a fraction of a second because G1 immediately bounces off the ground and stands up again. It looks like it is wound up on a spring.

No hesitation, no awkwardness. Just: bang! it is down, bang! it is already standing. And it happens so quickly that it reminds me of Bruce Lee in his prime — flexible, fast, and absolutely unstoppable.

This is the first time in a long while that a humanoid video has truly shocked me.

It is no longer about robots shuffling slowly and falling clumsily. This is balance on a completely new level.

Unitree G1 shines on video, but faces a serious security problem

Yes, Unitree G1 looks amazing on video. It falls dozens, even hundreds of times, and then jumps back on its feet in an instant.

But here is the catch. At the very same time a serious security flaw was revealed, and it creates a sharp contrast to this “show of agility.”

I have said this a million times and I will say it once more: a healthy dose of professional skepticism never hurt anyone.

It turns out that while Unitree shines on screen, behind the scenes it is struggling with a major safety issue.

Security researchers discovered a vulnerability in the BLE / Wi-Fi communication system that allows attackers to gain root-level control over Unitree robots.

So what does this mean in simple terms?

BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and Wi-Fi are the ways the robot connects wirelessly with a phone, the cloud, or other devices. A flaw in these protocols means that anyone within range can “listen in” or even tamper with the messages between the robot and its controller.

Root access is the most powerful account in any system. Someone with root permissions can modify the robot’s system, install their own code, and give it completely different behaviors. In other words, root-level hacking is like taking full control of the robot.

Which means if someone gets close enough to the robot’s Bluetooth range, they could exploit this vulnerability to inject their own code, take control, and even spread the attack to other units, because the flaw is “wormable” (able to propagate automatically).

Picture this: a moment ago the G1 impressed everyone with speed and balance like a warrior. But at the same time, if someone reaches into its systems, it can be turned into a puppet.

This is another reminder that robots must not only be fast, agile, and intelligent, but also secure. Because what good is a humanoid ballerina if someone else can pull the strings from outside?

A link to resources : https://github.com/Bin4ry/UniPwn

Forget humanoids, meet the sci-fi origami pipe robot: SPARC

Time to switch gears. Forget humanoids for a moment, today is about a pipe-like robot that looks like it came straight out of sci-fi origami. Meet SPARC (Soft, Proprioceptive, Agile Robot for 3D Climbing), developed by researchers from the University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

What does it do? Full acrobatics. It can crawl across flat surfaces, climb vertical walls, and smoothly transition from horizontal to vertical, like a worm that suddenly stands up on legs.

How does it work?

• SPARC uses three pneumatic actuators based on origami-inspired Kresling patterns. Imagine a twisted accordion that contracts and rotates when pressurized.

• When the actuator contracts, it also twists. This contraction-to-twist relationship is predictable. That means the robot automatically “knows” its own shape without external sensors. This is what proprioceptive means, the robot has a built-in sense of its own body.

• The accuracy is impressive: on flat surfaces the error is about 0.5%, on vertical walls about 3%. What does that mean? If the robot plans to travel 1 meter, on a flat surface it will miss by only 5 millimeters, and on a vertical wall by about 3 centimeters. For a soft pneumatic “pipe robot” those are seriously precise results.

• Its unusual “feet” are silicone dual-cup suction pads that let it grip walls without distortion.

• And one more thing: SPARC can carry more than twice its own weight while climbing vertically.

This robot shows that the future is not only about humanoids. It is also about soft structures that adapt to space, climb, and move in places where traditional designs would not stand a chance.

And that’s all the news in today’s Ready for Tomorrow.

As always, the world of robotics never sleeps, which means we always have something to talk about.

If you enjoyed this edition, remember to follow the next ones. And if you have your own questions or news worth covering, let me know.

See you in the next Ready for Tomorrow. Take care and don’t let the robots get you… at least not yet.

Cheers, Jacek!