Google DeepMind unveiled Gemini Robotics 1.5, the latest iteration in its line of vision-language-action models.
According to Google, the upgrade is designed to give robots greater perception and “thinking” capabilities, enabling them to plan and conduct complex tasks with greater autonomy than before.
The release includes two complementary systems: Gemini Robotics 1.5, which translates visual input and instructions into motor commands, and Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5, an “embodied reasoning” model that uses digital tools such as web search to plan tasks before handing execution over to its counterpart.
Together, the models allow robots to “think” before they act, explaining their decision-making and adapting to context-dependent jobs — such as separating laundry by color or packing a suitcase depending on the weather.
In a blog post about the launch on Sept. 25, DeepMind said Gemini 1.5 marks a “foundational step” toward artificial general intelligence (AGI).
“Gemini Robotics 1.5 marks an important milestone toward solving AGI in the physical world,” the company said. “By introducing agentic capabilities, we’re moving beyond models that react to commands and creating systems that can truly reason, plan, actively use tools and generalize.”
Another key feature of the upgrade is the ability for robots to share skills across different systems and forms.
In tests, Google DeepMind found that a task learned by the dual-arm ALOHA2 robot could be directly transferred to the Franka bi-arm robot and even to Apptronik’s humanoid Apollo robot, without retraining.
ALOHA2 is an open source hardware and software project developed collaboratively by DeepMind and Stanford University researchers. The Franka robot is a project of Germany-based Agile Robots AG. Austin-based Apptronik is challenging Elon Musk’s Tesla Optimus humanoid robot project.
“This breakthrough accelerates learning new behaviors, helping robots become smarter and more useful,” DeepMind said.
Google will roll out Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5 to developers through the Gemini API in Google AI Studio, though only select partners will have access to Gemini Robotics 1.5.