Employees had to restrain a dancing humanoid robot after it went wild at a California restaurant

Employees had to restrain a dancing humanoid robot after it went wild at a California restaurant

When we expect about the existential threats of new technology, we’re normally considering about one thing like the latest negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon over how AI can be utilized in the navy. It’s terrifying to assume about — how lengthy will it be before a nuclear weapon could be detonated without any human intervention?

We’ve been spending a lot time considering about these potential catastrophes that we haven’t braced ourselves for the more speedy hazard in our midst: dancing robots.

A dancing robot at the scorching pot restaurant Haidilao in Cupertino, California, boogied a little too onerous, received too shut to a desk, and began smashing plates and sending dishware and chopsticks in every single place, prompting the restaurant’s workers to intervene, in accordance to a video posted on the Chinese social network Xiaohongshu by consumer Meooow.

A dancing humanoid robot received a little too funky during a performance in Cupertino, California and had to be restrained by workers after knocking objects off a desk. pic.twitter.com/nZQsGoFHn6

— ABC News (@ABC) March 19, 2026

From what we will see from the video, at least three staff struggled to restrain the robot as it flung its arms round. One Haidilao worker appears to be trying at her telephone, maybe in an try to toggle one thing on an app controlling the robot. It’s attainable the robot — which seems to be an AgiBot X2 robot, which was featured at the CES convention in January — has a kill change, however the workers may not have identified how to function it.

If you’re not accustomed to scorching pot, it is best to know that, as its identify suggests, it includes very popular pots of soup. No one likes spilled meals, but when the robot had been to knock piping bowls of bone broth over, it wouldn’t just be a culinary catastrophe, it may severely burn somebody. Not to point out any potential blunt-force injury from the now-moshing automaton.

When The Killers sang “Are we human or are we dancer,” we didn’t notice they had been asking us to take a stand in the future robot wars.

Haidilao confirmed the mechanical contretemps in a assertion to NBC News, however denied the robot was “malfunctioning or out of control.”

The Gossip Blogger event

San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026

“In this case, the robot was brought closer to a dining table at a guest’s request, which is not its typical operating setting,” the Chinese chain of scorching pot eating places told NBC News in a assertion. “The limited space affected its movement during the performance.”

AgiBot didn’t instantly reply to TechCrunch’s request for remark.

Haidilao has experimented with a “smart restaurant” in Beijing, which used robotic servers and broth mixing machines. It appears that this Haidilao restaurant was just utilizing this robot for leisure functions, however issues received out of hand when it danced a little too shut to prospects.

Many startups are engaged on bringing robots to the meals service trade, like Shin Starr, which is engaged on making absolutely autonomous kitchens. Pudu Robotics’ BellaBot, a cutesy, cat-like robot, can direct prospects to their seats and convey out their meals when it’s executed.

Maybe that’s safer than humanoid robots, for now at least — the BellaBot doesn’t have any limbs.

Stay informed with the latest headlines that matter. At TheGossipBlogger.com, we ship well timed and credible coverage on breaking news, global occasions, politics, society, and the whole lot in between.

Whether it’s unfolding developments, coverage adjustments, or highly effective human-interest tales, our newsroom curates impactful content to maintain you up to date in real time.

From local points to worldwide affairs, we break down complicated tales with readability, context, and a deal with what’s related to you.

Bookmark News and test in often — because staying informed is the first step towards staying ahead.