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BGSU students get hands-on experience with new humanoid robot
Confirmed
In Short: Meanwhile, in the United States, Bowling Green State University (BGSU) students are getting hands-on experience with new humanoid robots.
German police seized a humanoid robot after it allegedly touched a 16-year-old girl in an indecent manner and made sexually suggestive gestures in Cologne, Germany.
Videos shared online show the incident involving a red-and-gold robot in athletic wear, about 4 feet tall, approaching the girl from behind.
The robot's owner, a 16-year-old male, and his 19-year-old companion are said to have recorded and livestreamed the encounter on social media.
German media identified the robot as a commercially available humanoid model that costs around 5,000 euros, or about $5,600.
Investigators are trying to determine whether the robot's actions were deliberately controlled by the two young men.
One of the individuals involved later claimed on TikTok that the robot had accidentally collided with a woman while trying to avoid another passerby.
Now, they’re working with their biggest group yet: 60 students participating in a series of police exercises, including building clearing and traffic crash reconstruction.
The use of humanoid robots in various sectors is rapidly expanding, with China leading the way in production and deployment.
According to a 2024 report by Kaiyuan Securities, Unitree shipped over 1,400 humanoid robots last year, making it the leading manufacturer by volume globally.
In July, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it expects China to manufacture more than 100,000 humanoid robots in 2026.
The deployment of these robots goes beyond standalone demonstrations, embedding them into a range of guest-facing and operational scenarios.
AGIBOT and Chimelong Group today launched the first phase of a large-scale embodied AI deployment at Chimelong Spaceship Park, with more than 300 robots integrated into entertainment, education, visitor services, and hotel operations.
What this adds
The incident in Cologne highlights the potential misuse of humanoid robots and the need for regulation.
The rapid deployment of humanoid robots in China underscores the country's leadership in the field.
What's confirmed
- German police seized a humanoid robot after it allegedly touched a 16-year-old girl in an indecent manner and made sexually suggestive gestures in Cologne, Germany.
- Videos shared online show the incident involving a red-and-gold robot in athletic wear, about 4 feet tall, approaching the girl from behind.
- The robot's owner, a 16-year-old male, and his 19-year-old companion are said to have recorded and livestreamed the encounter on social media.
- German media identified the robot as a commercially available humanoid model that costs around 5,000 euros, or about $5,600.
- Investigators are trying to determine whether the robot's actions were deliberately controlled by the two young men.
- One of the individuals involved later claimed on TikTok that the robot had accidentally collided with a woman while trying to avoid another passerby.
- Now, they’re working with their biggest group yet: 60 students participating in a series of police exercises, including building clearing and traffic crash reconstruction.
- The use of humanoid robots in various sectors is rapidly expanding, with China leading the way in production and deployment.
- According to a 2024 report by Kaiyuan Securities, Unitree shipped over 1,400 humanoid robots last year, making it the leading manufacturer by volume globally.
- In July, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it expects China to manufacture more than 100,000 humanoid robots in 2026.
- The deployment of these robots goes beyond standalone demonstrations, embedding them into a range of guest-facing and operational scenarios.
- AGIBOT and Chimelong Group today launched the first phase of a large-scale embodied AI deployment at Chimelong Spaceship Park, with more than 300 robots integrated into entertainment, education, visitor services, and hotel operations.
What's still developing
- “When people think of it, they mostly think of law enforcement. But so far, I have viewed that there is much more than that in the field,” said Perry, a BGSU freshman criminal justice student.
- The Caijing Magazine feature published on August 31, titled “The King of Unitree,” was translated into English by ChinaTalk, a US-based think tank and media organization, on September 10.
- Education Minister Edouard Geffray said the wave of protests had been declining in recent days and the government would launch a platform for students to express their dissatisfaction.
- “As long as they don’t listen to us, we won’t stop this fight.” In total, more than 5,000 people have been arrested since the protests began, with 87% of them being minors.
- The initiative will begin with school-level discussions before moving to regional conclaves and a national forum, with the aim of turning student experiences and concerns into recommendations for schools and policymakers.
- “Student well-being cannot be addressed through isolated interventions or occasional conversations. We need to create a culture in which students are heard, their experiences are understood, and their voices shape how schools think about mental health, resilience, and support. This Conclave is our effort to take that conversation from individual classrooms to a national platform,” said Dr Joseph Emmanuel, Chief Executive and Secretary, CISCE.
- Mecka AI, a startup that collects and analyzes human motion data to train humanoid robots and other kinds of robots, announced it has raised a $60 million Series B round led by Sequoia, with participation from Nvidia, Microsoft’s venture fund M12, and others.
- Get 50% off a second pass The Disrupt experience is meant to be shared.
- “To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous,” said Confucius, the Chinese philosopher who lived during the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E.
- Overall body paneling appears far tighter, streamlining the robot’s silhouette and giving it the appearance of a consumer-ready hardware product rather than an exposed laboratory test project.
- New digital assets uncovered deep inside the Tesla app appear to give us our first clear, unmasked look at the production-ready Optimus Gen 3 robot.
- Apple will introduce new OLED touchscreen MacBook Pro models and an OLED iPad mini "on or around" Tuesday, October 27, reports Bloomberg.