Boston Dynamics just gave its robot dog a brain that reasons about the physical world. Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics model is now runnin…

Boston Dynamics just gave its robot dog a brain that reasons about the physical world. Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics model is now running inside Spot, the four-legged robot already deployed at thousands of facilities worldwide. The upgrade centers on something called embodied reasoning. Basically, instead of following rigid instructions, Spot now interprets what it sees and makes decisions on its own. One standout example: Spot can now look at a pressure gauge, zoom in on the needle, calculate the intervals between tick marks, and deliver an accurate reading. All autonomously. The model also introduces: > Multi-view reasoning, combining feeds from multiple cameras to understand its environment even when objects are blocked from one angle > Built-in success detection, so Spot knows when it's failed and decides whether to retry or move on That last part is a key requirement for true autonomy. Most companies building AI-powered robots are still stuck in the demo phase. Boston Dynamics is one of the few with actual paying customers... which means thousands of Spots collecting real-world data that feeds back into making the AI smarter. That flywheel is hard to compete with. Media

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• Google DeepMind introduces Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 robotic reasoning model, says it shows significant spatial and physical reasoning improvements over ER 1.5 (Google DeepMind)
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• ABot-M0: VLA Foundation Model for Robotic Manipulation with Action Manifold Learning
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Source: Rowan Cheung (X) | 2026-04-20