World's first 'flying' humanoid

Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. Italian researchers just launched the world’s first jet-powered flying humanoid, iRonCub3 — and, yes, it’s as wild as it sounds.

iRonCub3 is a prototype for a new breed of machines that can walk and fly, shifting between terra firma and the open sky. It’s early days, but watching a humanoid hover on jet power is enough to make you wonder: are things about to get really weird?

In today’s robotics rundown:

• The first-ever flying humanoid demoed

• U.S. gets the first fully robotic heart transplant

• Hexagon unveils AEON humanoid with Nvidia

• Danish military tests unmanned robot sailboats

• Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

ITALIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

🤖 The first-ever flying humanoid demoed

The Rundown: Engineers at the Italian Institute of Technology successfully demoed iRonCub3 — the world’s first humanoid that can hover and balance in midair using jet engines attached to its body and AI-driven control.

The details:

• iRonCub3 uses four jet engines mounted on its back and legs and features a titanium spine and heat-resistant covers to withstand temperatures of 800°C.

• During its debut flight, iRonCub3 successfully lifted about 50cm off the ground, maintaining balance and stability throughout the brief flight.

• The robot relies on sophisticated algorithms to adjust engine thrust and body posture in real-time, preventing uncontrolled spins or loss of balance midair.

• While iRonCub3 is still a proof-of-concept, its successful test flight represents a major step toward hybrid robots that can operate on both land and in the air.

Why it matters: While it’s still early, the team has worked for two years to get the humanoid to fly. Eventually, the tech could transform disaster response, search-and-rescue, and even space exploration, giving hybrid robots the agility to navigate environments that would stump even the most advanced drones or ground-based bots.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS

❤️ U.S. gets the first fully robotic heart transplant

The Rundown: Houston’s Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center just redefined heart transplant surgery, performing the first fully robotic procedure in the U.S. — no chest cracking required — using a minimally invasive approach.

The details:

• Using a surgical robot controlled via foot pedals and a joystick, the team made a series of small, precise incisions to perform the heart transplant.

• The traditional method of sawing through the breastbone, or a sternotomy, was avoided, preserving the chest wall and reducing trauma and risk of infection.

• The recipient was a 45-year-old man with advanced heart failure who had been hospitalized since November 2024.

• The transplant took place in early March, and after a month in the hospital, he was discharged home without complications.

Why it matters: First performed in Saudi Arabia on a 16-year-old patient, fully robotic heart transplants not only preserve the chest wall but also slash the risk of infection, speed up recovery, and minimize the need for blood transfusions — a game-changer for patients on immunosuppressants who are especially vulnerable to complications.

HEXAGON

🔥 Hexagon unveils AEON humanoid with Nvidia

The Rundown: Swedish tech giant Hexagon unveiled AEON — a humanoid that it says is designed to be the ultimate industrial multitasker in the face of a global labor crunch that’s left 50M positions unfilled across manufacturing and logistics.

The details:

• AEON is a full-sized humanoid, standing at 175 cm tall and weighing 80 kg, making it suitable for human-scale tasks in industrial environments.

• The robot’s AI-driven mission control leverages NVIDIA’s Jetson platform and Omniverse simulation, allowing it to learn and execute complex workflows.

• Its unique battery-swapping system ensures continuous operation, eliminating downtime for charging and maximizing productivity on the factory floor.

• AEON is already being piloted by companies like Schaeffler and Pilatus, demonstrating its capabilities in real-world manufacturing and logistics.

Why it matters: AEON is designed for industrial applications first, emphasizing practical versatility rather than mimicking human appearance. Its strengths — such as 3D environment mapping and tackling complex technical tasks — could make it stand out from more generalist robots like those from Figure AI, Agility Robotics, or Tesla.

SAILDRONE

⛵️ Danish military tests unmanned robot sailboats

The Rundown: Denmark launched four uncrewed robotic sailboats — dubbed “Voyagers” — built by California’s Saildrone to patrol the Baltic and North Seas, regions now fraught with heightened maritime tensions.

The details:

• The “Voyager” sailboats are 10m (30 ft.) long, uncrewed, and powered by wind and solar energy, enabling months-long operation without refueling.

• These vessels are equipped with advanced surveillance technology, including radar, infrared and optical cameras, sonar, and acoustic sensors.

• The Voyagers are currently undergoing a three-month operational trial, with two already integrated into NATO patrols.

• They all leverage machine learning and AI to detect and classify threats, including illegal fishing, smuggling, and damage to undersea cables.

Why it matters: The Danish Defense Ministry says the trial aims to boost surveillance in under-monitored waters, focusing on protecting critical undersea assets like fiber-optic cables and power lines. As NATO and its allies monitor the trial, it could reshape how nations defend their waters amid rising geopolitical and hybrid threats.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in robotics today

Alphabet-owned Waymo said it is widening its California robotaxi network by roughly 80 square miles, extending coverage in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

U.S. drone maker Anduril and German defense giant Rheinmetall are partnering to develop aerial drones for European markets.

A group of Texas lawmakers formally requested that Tesla delay the launch of its robotaxi service in Austin, slated for June 22, citing safety concerns.

Chongqing, China, just staged a drone light show involving 11,787 unmanned aerial vehicles, reportedly setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest drone show.

A new Gallup survey shows that 40% of U.S. employees now use AI at work at least a few times a year, with 15% believing they are likely to be replaced by AI or robots.

Amazon-owned Zoox opened its first robotaxi production facility in Hayward, California, with the capacity to assemble 10K electric, driverless cars a year.

Cardinal Robotics, makers of cleaning robots that stand four feet tall, reportedly raised $800M in funding from 15 banks to cover manufacturing costs upfront.

PrismaX, a San Francisco-based startup, officially launched a robotics teleoperations platform following an $11M round of funding.

ANYbotics introduced Gas Leak and Presence Detection for its ANYmal robot, enabling autonomous monitoring for costly, invisible leaks in industrial plants.

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See you soon,

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