Google DeepMind Timeline

Events

• 2026-10-13 - Research Publication - Google DeepMind broadly releases Gemini 4 Argon - Google reports an 87% score on its Embodied Reasoning benchmark for physical and spatial problems. In an internal test, Argon reconstructed a human cornhole video, generated simulation code and transferred a skill to an Apptronik Apollo humanoid that made… - source: blog.google
• 2026-07-15 - Partnership - Yaskawa integrates Gemini Robotics into MOTOMAN NEXT - The system combines vision, path planning and force sensing to turn a general instruction into physical robot actions. Yaskawa describes automatic recovery from dropped objects and links to production-management systems for tasks such as parts replenishment.… - source: yaskawa-global.com
• 2026-06-30 - Product Launch - Apptronik opens expanded Robot Park and unveils Apollo 2 - The nearly 90,000-square-foot Austin site anchors a network that also includes Google DeepMind, Mercedes-Benz and GXO locations. Apptronik described a mix of teleoperation and autonomous execution to gather data for Gemini Robotics models. Apollo 2 had… - source: apptronik.com
• 2026-06-09 - Market Signal - Google DeepMind selects 15 startups for European Robotics Accelerator - Google DeepMind selected 15 early-stage European robotics startups for the inaugural three-month accelerator. The equity-free program provides technical mentorship, product guidance, Google AI infrastructure and access to Gemini Robotics models. The cohort… - source: blog.google
• 2026-06-09 - Award - Staer joins Google DeepMind Robotics Accelerator - Staer was one of 15 early-stage European robotics companies selected for the cohort. The programme runs from June through September 2026 and includes dedicated Google mentorship. Participants receive hands-on access to Gemini Robotics models and Google Cloud… - source: staer.ai
• 2026-04-11 - Demonstration - Innate runs 25 MARS robots at Y Combinator RoboHacks - Innate and Iterate co-hosted the two-day robotics hackathon at Y Combinator's San Francisco office. More than 120 builders developed projects using at least 25 general-purpose MARS robots. NASA, Google DeepMind and other technology organizations supported… - source: events.trymimetic.com
• 2026-03-24 - Partnership - Agile Robots and Google DeepMind form strategic research partnership for industrial robotics - Agile Robots and Google DeepMind say they have formed a strategic research partnership to advance next-generation AI robotics. The collaboration combines Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics foundation models with Agile Robots' industrial robotics platform. The… - source: agile-robots.com
• 2026-03-04 - Market Signal - Google DeepMind launches robotics accelerator for European startups - Google DeepMind launched a three-month robotics accelerator for startups across Europe. The program is designed to help robotics startups bridge cutting-edge technology and market-ready ventures. Applications were scheduled to close on March 25, 2026, with… - source: deepmind.google
• 2026-01-05 - Partnership - Boston Dynamics and Google DeepMind partner to bring Gemini Robotics to Atlas - Joint research was planned at both companies, using a fleet of new Atlas robots. The work combines Gemini Robotics foundation models with visual-language-action approaches for humanoid behaviour. Initial applications target industrial tasks, beginning with… - source: bostondynamics.com
• 2025-11-19 - Executive Hire - Google DeepMind hires former Boston Dynamics CTO Aaron Saunders for robotics hardware push - Google DeepMind hired Aaron Saunders, former CTO of Boston Dynamics, as vice president of hardware engineering. The hire signaled a deeper push into robotics hardware and physical AI alongside Google DeepMind robotics-model work. Saunders brought senior… - source: wired.com
• 2025-09-25 - Demonstration - Apptronik Apollo demonstrates Gemini Robotics 1.5 skill transfer - Tasks presented only to ALOHA 2 during training also worked on Apollo and the bi-arm Franka platform. Gemini Robotics 1.5 was available to selected partners, while Robotics-ER 1.5 was offered to developers through the Gemini API. - source: deepmind.google
• 2025-06-24 - Research Publication - Google DeepMind introduces Gemini Robotics On-Device for local robot control - Google DeepMind introduced Gemini Robotics On-Device as an efficient VLA model optimized to run locally on robotic devices. The model supports general-purpose dexterity, fast task adaptation and SDK-based evaluation in MuJoCo with small demonstration sets.… - source: deepmind.google
• 2025-03-12 - Demonstration - Apptronik Apollo shown with Gemini Robotics - The vision-language-action model was trained primarily on ALOHA 2 data and could also control a Franka-based bi-arm platform. A separate Robotics-ER model provided spatial reasoning that developers could connect to their existing low-level controllers. - source: deepmind.google
• 2024-12-19 - Partnership - Apptronik partners with Google DeepMind on humanoid AI - Apollo was described as a 5-foot-8-inch, 160-pound platform designed for physically demanding industrial work. The agreement followed Apptronik’s commercial engagements with GXO and Mercedes-Benz during the same year. - source: apptronik.com
• 2024-10-16 - Demonstration - FrodoBots runs AI-versus-gamers Earth Rover Challenge at IROS 2024 - The competition ran October 16-17 during IROS 2024 in Abu Dhabi with five AI teams and five human gamers. Teams remotely controlled sidewalk robots on navigation missions in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Taipei, Stockholm and other cities. FrodoBots collaborated… - source: decrypt.co
• 2023-07-28 - Research Publication - Google DeepMind introduces RT-2 vision-language-action model - RT-2 was presented as a robotics model trained on both web-scale vision-language data and robot action data. The release described improved generalization on emergent robotic skills compared with RT-1 and visual-language baselines. The event is sourced to… - source: deepmind.google