Nvidia's GR00T N1 AI for humanoids

Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. At this week’s jam-packed Nvidia GTC conference, CEO Jensen Huang unveiled Isaac GR00T N1, the world’s first open-source and fully customizable foundation model for humanoids.

Huang says that “the age of generalist robotics is here,” and that GR00T N1 is what developers need to train smarter, more capable humanoids—faster than we ever imagined. But will Nvidia’s advances live up to the hype?

In today’s robotics rundown:

• Nvidia’s open-source AI for humanoids

• Disney’s Star Wars droid comes to life

• A robot that leaps like a squirrel

• Humanoid with touch-sensitive ‘skin’

• Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

NVIDIA

🧠 Nvidia’s open-source AI for humanoids

The Rundown: At its GTC 2025 conference in San Jose, Nvidia unveiled Isaac GR00T N1, its open-source foundational model designed to accelerate the development and capabilities of humanoids and “open the next frontier in the age of AI.”

The details:

• GR00T N1 features a dual system architecture designed for “fast” and “slow” thinking systems, inspired by principles of human cognition.

• The slow thinking system enables robots to perceive, reason, and plan actions, while the fast thinking system translates these plans into real-world action.

• Nvidia is also releasing simulation frameworks and blueprints for generating synthetic training data, making GR00T N1 highly adaptable for various uses.

• Pre-trained on both synthetic and real data, this model has demonstrated tasks such as grasping, object manipulation, and executing multi-step instructions.

Why it matters: While GR00T N1 is a big jump in humanoid robotics, its ability to fully deliver on its promises will become clearer as it's more widely integrated and tested in various real-world applications. Companies that are already implementing the tech in their humanoids include 1X, Boston Dynamics, Agility, and Figure.

DISNEY

🎢 Disney’s Star Wars droid comes to life

The Rundown: During his GTC keynote, Jensen Huang revealed Nvidia has partnered with Disney and DeepMind to develop Newton, an open physics engine aimed at bringing a new wave of robots—starting with a Star Wars-inspired droid named “Blue.”

The details:

• Huang introduced the “Blue” prototype on stage, showcasing how it uses Newton for complete real-time simulation and action.

• Built on Nvidia's Warp framework, Newton will provide a customizable and scalable simulation environment, optimized for AI-driven robotic characters.

• Nvidia says Newton will be compatible with DeepMind's MuJoCo and its own Isaac Lab, accelerating robotics workloads by over 70x.

• It plans to release an early, open-source version of Newton later in 2025, allowing developers worldwide to experiment with the technology.

Why it matters: BDX droids like Blue are expected to roam around Disney parks this year, with Nvidia and DeepMind playing an integral role in powering the company’s future in robotics. However, it’s worth noting that the usefulness of this tech will go far beyond entertainment to more capable, expressive robots across various industries.

UC BERKELEY

🐿️ A robot that leaps like a squirrel

The Rundown: UC Berkeley researchers developed Salto, a squirrel-like robot that can take a flying leap and land on a narrow pipe—marking what the team says is the first time a bot has been able to stick the landing on such a small target.

The details:

• Salto is the result of extensive research into squirrel biomechanics, including how a squirrel’s front legs absorb kinetic energy from jumping.

• The robot features a motorized flywheel for balance, adjustable leg forces, and a passive gripper designed to minimize torque applied to the landing spot.

• In tests, it successfully leaped from one PVC pipe to another 25 times out of 30, with two trials resulting in a perfect upright balance on the pipe.

• Originally developed in 2016, Salto has been a work in progress; it started sticking landings on flat surfaces in 2020.

Why it matters: The team hopes that Salto’s small size and high, reactive jumps could allow the bot to quickly move through uneven terrain, which could mean life and death in search and rescue missions. Salto could also lead the way to agile bots working on construction sites, hopping from pipes while carrying cameras for inspection.

NEURA ROBOTICS

🇪🇺 Humanoid with touch-sensitive ‘skin’

The Rundown: German robotics company Neura Robotics is launching its third-gen 4NE-1 humanoid in June, with CEO David Rege saying that Europe’s new take on the generalist robot will be the best in the world.

The details:

• The 4NE-1 stands nearly 6 feet tall and features 3D vision, touch sensors, and AI-driven cognition designed after human thought processes.

• However, Neura says the difference is in its advanced sensor “skin,” enabling it to sense touch, predict contact, and measure pressure with precision.

• The company is developing the cognitive humanoid using Nvidia’s GR00T N1 AI — joining players like Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics with early access.

• It has doubled its workforce to over 300 employees in a year and recently secured $130M in Series B funding for its Neuroverse platform.

Why it matters: In an era of tariff wars, Neura sees the development of its all-purpose 4NE-1 as crucial for European competitiveness. This push from the company comes as the UK’s Humanoid is still in the process of developing its robot and Norway’s 1X is gearing up to manufacture tens of thousands of units of its NEO humanoid by 2026.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in robotics today

Apptronik, the company behind Apollo humanoid, announced it added an extra $53M to its Series A funding round, bringing the total funding from the round to $403M.

Boston Dynamics released a clip of its Atlas humanoid demonstrating some impressively fluid moves, including crawling, breakdancing, and cartwheeling.

Nvidia is partnering with GM to advance the autonomous driving systems of the carmaker as well as its manufacturing processes.

Unitree released a video showing its G1 humanoid performing a standing side flip—a world-first—using 23 degrees of freedom and cutting-edge technology.

Chinese developer Dobot unveiled a new humanoid called Atom, which has 28 degrees of freedom, ±0.05 mm precision, and a price tag of $27K.

PETA India donated a robotic elephant to a temple in India to be used in place of live animals in ceremonies, in a commitment to protecting endangered Asian elephants.

Chinese researchers developed a tiny robot to explore ocean depths of 10,600 meters (34,776 feet), now being tested in the Mariana Trench.

Researchers from Princeton and the University of Edinburgh found that an AI-powered robot can take over coffee-making duties in busy kitchens and cafes.

U.S. researchers created a reinforcement learning-based framework that allows legged robots to successfully ride a skateboard.

Chinese scientists developed a six-legged robot inspired by insect movements, for future mining operations on the Moon and missions to deep space asteroids.

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Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team