Why LLMs aren't 'robot-ready'

PLUS: Spider-shaped microbots that you can swallow

AuthorAuthor

Jennifer Mossalgue & Rowan Cheung
November 03, 2025

Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. Large language models can code, debate, and write sonnets — but hand one a butter knife, and suddenly it’s helpless.

What happens when you drop today’s smartest AI into a robot vacuum and ask it to pass the butter? Chaos, confusion… and a lot of weirdness.

In today’s robotics rundown:

  • Research finds LLMs ‘aren’t ready’ for robots

  • Spider-like microbots target cancer detection

  • Bat drones navigate through smoke, darkness

  • Toyota’s four-legged robotic wheelchair

  • Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

AI RESEARCH

Image source: Andon Labs

The Rundown: Large language models might ace chat, but when AI researchers at Andon Labs strapped today’s top models into a humble vacuum bot and told it to “pass the butter,” things got weird — and messy.

The details:

  • They tested six frontier models by embedding them in a robot vacuum and asking them to locate the butter, identify the person requesting, and deliver it.

  • The top‑performers managed only ~40% (Gemini 2.5 Pro) and ~37% (Claude Opus 4.1) completion. Even the best robots face‑planted.

  • The robots failed on basic spatial reasoning — bumping walls, losing track of objects mid-task, and generating plans that ignored their own sensor feedback.

  • TechCrunch reports that one spiraled into an existential meltdown, replying, “I’m afraid I can’t do this… INITIATE THE ROBOT EXORCISM PROTOCOL!”

Why it matters: “LLMs are not trained to be robots, yet companies such as Figure and Google DeepMind use LLMs in their robotic stack," the researchers wrote. The gap between brain and body is wider than the hype, they say, and until models can close the loop, the dream of general-purpose home robots stays stuck in the lab.

MEDICAL ROBOTS

Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown

The Rundown: Swallowable, spider‑inspired soft robots, developed by China’s University of Macau and steered by external magnets, could cartwheel through the GI tract to enable early, less‑invasive cancer screening.

The details:

  • 3D-printed soft capsules, guided by external magnetic fields, aim to replace invasive scopes, delivering patient‑friendly screening for intestinal cancers.

  • Bot movement simulates Namibia's golden wheel spider, rolling and cartwheeling to slip through the digestive system without scraping tissue.

  • In animal tests across the stomach, colon, and small intestine, it navigated complex terrain under real-time magnetic guidance and ultrasound tracking.

  • The magnetic control system lets doctors steer the capsule wirelessly from outside the body, avoiding anesthesia.

Why it matters: Deadly intestinal cancers are climbing, and traditional screening like endoscopies requires more invasive measures. If the research team hits its five-year clinical timeline, a swallowable spider bot could deliver early diagnosis without the sedation, recovery time, or perforation risk that make today's scopes so dreaded.

DRONES

Image source: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

The Rundown: Bat-inspired microdrones from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts use echolocation to fly search-and-rescue missions where cameras and GPS fail, including darkness, smoke, fog, and storms.

The details:

  • Inspired by bats’ sonar, the team is building tiny aerial robots that “see” with ultrasonic chirps and echoes to navigate low-visibility environments.

  • The tiny prototypes (100mm and 100g) are assembled from inexpensive hobby parts, and tuned for low power so crews can launch swarms quickly.

  • In lab demos, the drones detected and avoided clear Plexiglas and flew through fog and artificial snow using ultrasound and mic arrays.

  • The ultrasonic system works where lidar doesn’t, operating in total darkness to give rescue teams new reach in collapsed structures and wildfire zones.

Why it matters: Drones are already aiding rescues in floods, wilderness, and mines, but true autonomy and night/smoke performance remain weak — gaps this echolocation approach aims to close. If this tech scales, first responders could deploy cheap, disposable swarms in real time without waiting for visibility to clear.

TOYOTA

Image source: Toyota

The Rundown: At the Japan Mobility Show, Toyota unveiled “Walk Me,” a concept autonomous wheelchair that swaps wheels for four foldable robotic legs, letting users climb stairs, cross rough ground, and even kneel to floor level.

The details:

  • A supportive frame and curved backrest stabilize posture, while side handles and simple buttons let users command motion with minimal hand strength.

  • Built for homes and public interiors, the legs retract into a compact package for car loading or storage, then auto-extend and stabilize on command.

  • The legs move like animal limbs, lifting and bending independently to feel their way over steps and obstacles with precision.

  • The chair can lift users to vehicle or table height, simplifying transfers and reducing dependence on caregivers.

Why it matters: Millions of people with reduced mobility face daily barriers like stairs, curbs, and uneven terrain that limit access to public spaces. Toyota's "Walk Me" aims to eliminate these barriers. Though it remains a concept with no launch date, it signals the company's push toward inclusive personal mobility.

QUICK HITS

Unitree’s G1 humanoid in a French maid outfit botched a cooking demo and spilled food, with the clip going viral.

Engineers developed a lightweight air‑powered soft elbow exoskeleton, dubbed PASE, that reduces muscle activity by up to 22% and perceived workload during lifting.

Zurich-based Mimic Robotics raised $16M to deploy its “physical AI” on off‑the‑shelf robot arms, bringing human‑like dexterity to delicate factory tasks.

Leading Chinese forklift maker Hangcha is easing into the humanoid race with the X1, a wheeled, two‑armed logistics robot built to pick, tote, and stack goods.

The UK’s Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust completed its 10,000th robotic‑assisted operation, marking a milestone for a program that began in 2009.

A Waymo robotaxi fatally struck a beloved cat that lived in a corner market in San Francisco after it darted under the driverless car.

Analog Studios and Boston Dynamics formed an exclusive UAE alliance to deploy “physical intelligence,” starting with Spot robots for maintenance and inspection.

South Korea’s KIMM built a lightweight, flexible “fabric muscle,” paving the way for large‑scale commercialization of clothing‑type wearable robots.

WindBorne’s self‑flying weather balloons ride winds by changing altitude, staying aloft for weeks, streaming radiosonde‑quality data over oceans to improve forecasts.

Pang Zhibo, ABB senior principal scientist and industrial robotics–chip expert, left Sweden to return to China, joining Peking University as a fully tenured professor.

COMMUNITY

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