Qualcomm's humanoid robot demo went hilariously wrong when the machine just dropped dead on stage

[midian182]

Facepalm: In what is yet more evidence that we shouldn't fear the prospect of a robot takeover, a humanoid machine running Qualcomm's hardware and boasting 700 TOPS of on-device AI processing collapsed like it had been shot during an on-stage tech demo. If that wasn't bad enough, it happened right next to a Qualcomm executive, who seemed almost to die from shock rather than embarrassment. The robot was then covered with what looked like a body bag and carried away in shame.

The incident occurred during Computex 2026, but it seems video of what happened has only recently surfaced online.

The 4NE1 Gen 3.5 robot is from Qualcomm hardware partner Neura Robotics. It's powered by Qualcomm's Dragonwing IQ10 robotics reference design (RRD) and offers 6 to 8 hours of runtime with hot-swappable batteries, along with a 100 kg (220 pounds) payload and a 5-foot-9-inch frame.

Robot powered by Qualcomm's new AI chip dies mid-presentation
by u/SuggestionMission516 in singularity

Like so many of these advanced humanoid robots we've seen in the past, this one walks onstage like it'd just vacated its bowels – were such a thing possible. It then patiently stands next to the exec as he shows off the Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ10 RRD.

But it appears that 4NE1 Gen 3.5 grew weary of the speech and appeared to drop dead on stage. It collapsed spectacularly, folding backwards on itself like a gymnast. Several people rushed up and covered its broken body before struggling to haul it away. As a final humiliation, the robot was dropped onto the floor before making it out the door.

In true corporate fashion, Qualcomm has put a positive spin on the catastrophe. It wrote that the robot had performed its "safe-collapse" sequence as designed, lowering itself to its knees to protect the environment around it. One imagines Qualcomm would have been praising the machine's data-securing self-destruction mechanism had it exploded on stage.

– Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) November 12, 2025

In fairness to Qualcomm and Neura, this isn't the first time a robot has collapsed into a pile while being paraded around. The same thing happened to Russia's first autonomous robot, AIdol, back in November. The company's CEO later called it a "real-time training" session and a "successful mistake."

Permalink to story:

Qualcomm's humanoid robot demo went hilariously wrong when the machine just dropped dead on stage

 

[wiyosaya]

Ship it!

 

[Gars]

Why robot need to be in human form is beyond me

 

[fadingfool]

Why robot need to be in human form is beyond me

Terminators work a lot better as infiltration units when they are in a humanoid form...... A bit of stage fright is a fairly typical response.....

 

[Thatsdisgusting]

Terminators work a lot better as infiltration units when they are in a humanoid form...... A bit of stage fright is a fairly typical response.....

Eh dunno, I have a friend in the Resistance, he says dogs are good at spotting one from afar…

 

[The Talking Tech]

"But it appears that 4NE1 Gen 3.5 grew weary of the speech and appeared to drop dead on stage. It collapsed spectacularly"



This is pure gold!

It couldn't possibly be anymore humiliating right at the moment the presentation was praising it.

Thank you for the great laugh...

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Why robot need to be in human form is beyond me

Well the entire point of a general purpose robot is to be.....general purpose. And everything in real life is built around the human body, so why wouldnt you make the robot human shaped? What other shape, in your mind, would be compatible with human infrastructure and work better?

 

[ddferrari]

First of all, that Russian robot looked drunk from the start.

Secondly, I find it hilarious that they feel the need to cover these robots with a cloth - like they are a human being that just collapsed and soiled itself, or is bleeding lol. Are they building dignity into robots now?

 

[Axeia]

Well the entire point of a general purpose robot is to be.....general purpose. And everything in real life is built around the human body, so why wouldnt you make the robot human shaped? What other shape, in your mind, would be compatible with human infrastructure and work better?

They tried making them without heads as those are technically utterly irrelevant but people found headless torsos walking around a bit unsettling.
But yeah, we humans build our environment and tools/equipment to suit humans. When we want robots to do the same things we do they inevitably end up looking like humans, two legs, two arms - a bunch of fingers.

 

[Endymio]

Why robot need to be in human form is beyond me

Evolution found the bipedal form highly useful. Of course, robots for specialized tasks come in many different shapes and sizes: everything from robot snakes to inspect pipelines to robot quadriped cargo carriers.

The most frightening thing about this demo is how it demonstrates the lead China has taken over the West. Compare the Qualcomm offering's motion to that of this Unitree robot:

 

[Gezzer]

Why robot need to be in human form is beyond me

While there are some cases where due to existing environments made for humans, humanoid robots are needed. Most uses don't require the form factor. OTOH marketing does need an image that attracts investment. So we get them malfunctioning at large media events for entertainment...

 

[sreams]

It's a good thing they covered it in a blanket. Now nobody will see it collapsing on video.

 

[bigreddyde]

First of all, that Russian robot looked drunk from the start.

Secondly, I find it hilarious that they feel the need to cover these robots with a cloth - like they are a human being that just collapsed and soiled itself, or is bleeding lol. Are they building dignity into robots now?

It's about presenting fewer opportunities to photograph the "failed" machine.

 

[toooooot]

Evolution found the bipedal form highly useful. Of course, robots for specialized tasks come in many different shapes and sizes: everything from robot snakes to inspect pipelines to robot quadriped cargo carriers.

The most frightening thing about this demo is how it demonstrates the lead China has taken over the West. Compare the Qualcomm offering's motion to that of this Unitree robot:

If you saw all the robot fake videos from China I did, you would realize that the lead, if it is even there, isn't that big. They demonstrated nothing before companies like Boston robotics began to show their stuff. Copy is something China can do better than any country in the world.
The only real advantages that I will admit are the cheap labor, no environmental restriction, and no IP laws to obey.

Is that all a lot? It seems so on the first look. But the more I learn about China, the more I see an upgraded version of USSR. They present themselves a lot better than they are in reality. That shiny side with skyscrapers and advanced tech is the front side. Anything behind is a lot worse than in any average Western country, from healthcare to simple human dignity.

I do not see China as a real threat because their culture and party's vanity require to be seen as a lot better than they are, pretty much like USSR presented itself.

And regarding IP theft. I wonder what would happen to the West if every companies began to steal from each other. I think one very sure outcome would be a degradation of innovation. The investment into research and designing would halt. It would be a disaster for the entire Western world.

We are like those unmanaged street stores where you take an item and put a dollar in the jar. These stores cannot exist if nobody pays. Or rather, those would not exist if even 20% of the people stole instead of paying.

We are blessed to have only one China because a few more and maybe it would be impossible to get back money invested in research and invention of the new things. And what makes me extra pessimistic about China's bright tomorrow is their culture, mentality. Not their advances in using what they "borrow" or revers engineer. Distrust, utter lack valuing a human life, corruption equal or bigger than the one in USSR. They are not a successful country they present themselves. And shiny tech they boast of, shows the most their quick thieving hands rather than the ingenuity and creativity.

 

[Northy]

And what makes me extra pessimistic about China's bright tomorrow is their culture, mentality. Not their advances in using what they "borrow" or revers engineer. Distrust, utter lack valuing a human life, corruption equal or bigger than the one in USSR. They are not a successful country they present themselves. And shiny tech they boast of, shows the most their quick thieving hands rather than the ingenuity and creativity.

Even playing online games it's invariably the Chinese who come in large (not particularly skilled) groups and then cheat. And that's supposed to be fun? The mentality is very different from the west.

 

[toooooot]

Even playing online games it's invariably the Chinese who come in large (not particularly skilled) groups and then cheat. And that's supposed to be fun? The mentality is very different from the west.

So true about online gaming. When I played Ark Survival, the number one complain in discussions was Chinese players. We are very very different.

 

[OortCloud]

The Russian robot was the perfect analogy of what Putin has done to Russia. Turned it into a bungling laughing stock while syphoning all the money into his private accounts and all the talent either out of windows or out the country.

 

[scoffer]

Safe-collapse sequence..................... Would have been more fun if they'd had a 'bubble-popping' sequence........

 

[Str8Shot]

All this money and research going into these useless projects. They could fix entire countries, their infrastructures, etc but here we are, playing with the future of humanity because some ZioPedos decided this is the revolution the world needed in all its splendor.

 

[Endymio]

All this money and research going into these useless projects

The same objections were made when we began the "useless projects" of building electric grids, paved roads, and sewer networks for our cities.

We no longer grow our food by manually scraping the ground with a sharpened stick, and for the same reasons most labor in the future will be performed by automated machines such as these.

 

[sreams]

It's about presenting fewer opportunities to photograph the "failed" machine.

The entire failure and aftermath were captured on video. It's kind of too late to cover it up at that point.

 

[ddferrari]

It's about presenting fewer opportunities to photograph the "failed" machine.

I suppose... but with all the cameras rolling in that room, covering it with a cloth after the fact is futile!

 

[ddferrari]

The entire failure and aftermath were captured on video. It's kind of too late to cover it up at that point.

Sorry, I didn't read your post and stated the same thing

 

[Northy]

So true about online gaming. When I played Ark Survival, the number one complain in discussions was Chinese players. We are very very different.

It's basically every competitive online game that doesn't have effective region locking.

 

[bigreddyde]

I suppose... but with all the cameras rolling in that room, covering it with a cloth after the fact is futile!

Probably, but that's their reasoning regardless. You are right though, they always have plenty of footage to use.