Google DeepMind says Gemini Robotics 2 enables full body control

Google DeepMind says Gemini Robotics 2 enables full body control">

DeepMind says Gemini Robotics 2 can control the five-fingered, 22 degree-of-freedom SharpaWave hand on Apptronik’s Apollo 2 humanoid. | Source: Google DeepMind

Google DeepMind last week unveiled Gemini Robotics 2, the latest version of its vision-language-action, or VLA, model.

With the first version, the company showed how Gemini’s multimodal understanding could drive real-world action. The updated version includes intelligent whole-body control, advanced dexterity, and multi-robot collaboration, DeepMind said.

Gemini Robotics 2 enables robots to reason through every movement, unlocking a broad range of tasks. For example, it could enable a humanoid to walk, crouch, stretch, and manipulate objects to clean up a cluttered room. The robot could also team up with other robots to finish the job faster.

Gemini Robotics 2 can also run locally on-device while adapting to entirely new robotic bodies in just a few hours, claimed DeepMind. In addition to the VLA , the company also released:

Gemini Robotics ER 2 is now available on Google AI Studio and in private preview on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform . The VLA and On-Device models are available to early-access partners .

DeepMind’s previous models controlled the humanoid’s upper body to achieve tabletop tasks. Now, Gemini Robotics 2 is expanding physical AI into whole-body motions.

The model can now control entire humanoid robots, translating intent into intelligent whole-body control. For example, when controlling Apptronik ‘s Apollo 2 humanoid robot, users can ask it to “put the watering can into the green bin in the bottom shelf.”

Apollo processes the instruction, walks to the table, and picks up the watering can, takes a few steps to the shelves, and places it precisely in its destination. While DeepMind said robots have more to advance in movement speed, this is an important step towards the skills needed to complete more complex, real-world tasks that require whole-body coordination.

To be genuinely useful in our homes and workplaces, DeepMind said robots need finesse. Gemini Robotics 2 unlocks a new level of physical dexterity across different end effectors , whether a robot is using hands or grippers.

The model can now control the five-fingered, 22 degree-of-freedom SharpaWave hand on the Apollo 2 robot to complete delicate actions like tying knots or sealing a ziplock bag. It can also operate standard two-fingered parallel grippers on a Franka Duo platform to perform complex dexterous tasks such as tight packing.