Google DeepMind unveiled Gemini Robotics 2 on Wednesday, a suite of three AI models that gives humanoid and other robots whole-body control, sharper manipulation, and the ability to work together. The system can run locally on the robot itself and adapt to an entirely new machine body with a few hours of training data. DeepMind is pitching it as the "intelligence layer" for robots - the foundational operating system that every hardware maker builds on.

Rather than a single monolithic system, the company released three models across three access tiers:

Gemini Robotics 2: A vision-language-action model that turns what a robot sees and is told into motor commands. It can drive a full humanoid from feet to fingertips, as well as standard two-armed systems.

Gemini Robotics ER 2: An embodied-reasoning model that plans multi-step jobs over several minutes, recovers from failures, and lets multiple robots split a workflow between them.

Gemini Robotics On-Device 2: A lightweight version that runs directly on the hardware, for industrial settings where cloud connectivity is unreliable or unavailable.

DeepMind demonstrated a single model checkpoint controlling three physically distinct robots: an Apptronik Apollo 2 fitted with two different sets of hands, and a separate two-armed rig with a gripper. One model ran hardware it was never designed for.

Unlike its 2025 system, which handled only a robot's upper body, this version controls movement from the torso down through the legs, letting a humanoid walk, crouch, bend, and reach at once. In one demonstration, an Apollo 2 walked to a watering can and placed it on a lower shelf.

Success has been hit-or-miss, wit robots hitting roughly 68% accuracy picking objects from a table and 76% from a shelf, but only 46% from the floor. Multi-finger dexterity is still an unsolved problem, and simple grippers continue to outperform elaborate robotic hands. Movement needs to be faster and more reliable. This is a research release with a waitlist; nobody is putting it to work on a warehouse floor next quarter.

DeepMind says Gemini ER 2 its safest robotics model yet, based on benchmarks for adhering to safety constraints and avoiding humans, and it included an evaluation of whether a robot will refuse an unsafe instruction and defer to a human for help. The vision-language-action and on-device models are gated to more than 100 trusted testers and a handful of early partners; the reasoning model is in a more open preview.

The Bigger Bet Alphabet, Nvidia, and a wave of Chinese tech firms are all racing to own the "physical AI" stack rather than any single robot - the same bet that made mobile operating systems so valuable. If humanoid machines ever become as common as laptops, whoever supplies the universal brain that transfers cleanly from one body to the next will own a toll booth on the entire industry.

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Facing 10 years in prison if I don’t destroy my M1 Carbine

Trump calls off planned weekend strikes on new Iran targets as he hints at shock deal to REOPEN Strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump says he has called off anticipated strikes on Iran this weekend 'subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL' with the Islamic regime.

The president said on Truth Social on Saturday evening that although he remains 'locked and loaded' to launch an attack, he halted the strikes in hopes of reaching a peace deal.

Trump's announcement came after reports claimed he was talked down by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over concerns that further strikes could dramatically escalate the conflict in the Middle East.

Sources told Axios that the Crown Prince urged Trump to defuse the situation, following days of tit-for-tat threats between the White House and Tehran.

In Trump's Truth Social post on Saturday night, he threatened to unleash 'power not seen since World War II', but said he agreed to tentatively pause the attack.

'We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to,' Trump wrote.

 (Reality is breaking through the fog of DC,)

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16022553/Trump-Iran-strikes-deal-Truth-Social-Israel.html

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UK High Court Moves To Ban Display Of English And British Flags

Raising flags described as "criminal activity"...

 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/uk-high-court-moves-ban-display-english-and-british-flags

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Left Wing Political Commentator is SHOCKED That He is Being Hit With Zohran Mamdani’s New Tax on New Yorkers

FOX News reports:

Prominent liberal podcaster and NYU professor Scott Galloway called out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s publicly accessible database, saying it endangers landowners like himself.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani opened a new front in his ongoing battle with New York City’s wealthy after his administration published a searchable database identifying affluent property owners who could be subject to the city’s proposed pied-à-terre tax, a move critics say could expose them to harassment and public safety risks.

The database, released by the city’s Department of Finance, allows users to search properties and view the names and addresses of owners whose non-primary residences could be subject to the proposed tax. A spokesperson for the department said publication of the property roll was required by state law…

“I’ve been doxed,” the liberal professor announced on the podcast. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Mayor Mamdani has decided to release a list of the 950,000 residences with addresses and names that might be eligible for his pied-à-terre tax.”

 “I don’t love this,” co-host Kara Swisher agreed. “I can’t say I love this. It feels a little bit like doxing. Just tax them and get on with it is my feeling.”…

“He’s taken a legitimate source of tax revenue, and he’s turning it into a wanted poster,” he said of Mamdani’s tax list. “The question I would have is, other than trying to identify and imply these people have done something wrong — and then, 18 months after a healthcare CEO was executed in the street, published the list — what is the upside here? Why is he doing this?”

See the video below:

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