Robot Walks and Grabs Objects at the Same Time

Watching a robot walk is cool, but watching one grab a trash bag mid-stride and toss it in the bin? That's the kind of moment that makes roboticists stop and stare.

Westwood Robotics just unveiled THEMIS Gen2.5, which they're calling the world's first commercial full-size humanoid robot that can manipulate objects while moving. In their demo video, the robot walks toward a trash bin while picking up a bag, combining two skills that seem simple for humans but are incredibly complex for machines.

The breakthrough is bigger than it looks. Most humanoid robots have to stop, grab something, then start walking again. Getting them to do both at once requires coordinating balance, vision, and precise hand movements in real time.

Other teams are racing forward too. Figure's latest robot, Helix 02, now uses a single neural network to control walking, manipulating, and balancing as one continuous system. Last year, their robot could only control its upper body this way.

Meanwhile, researchers at EPFL's Reconfigurable Robotics Lab created a system that lets people control shape-shifting modular robots in real time. Users can guide robots that transform themselves while performing tasks like object manipulation and locomotion.

The Ripple Effect

These advances aren't just lab tricks. Carnegie Mellon researchers are showing how robotic responders could collect data during mass casualty events to help save lives. Zipline is flight-testing delivery drones in extreme weather conditions to reach people when roads fail.

Even educational robotics is evolving. Sphero, which has been making learning robots since 2011, continues adapting to help the next generation understand how these machines work. LimX Dynamics went playful with small bipedal robots that can ski and look like dinosaurs, making robotics more accessible and fun.

The real magic is in the coordination. Each of these robots represents teams solving the puzzle of how to make machines move more like living creatures, reacting and adapting without stopping to think between each action.

As humanoid robots learn to multitask smoothly, they're getting closer to working alongside people in homes, hospitals, and disaster zones where flexibility matters most.