iRonCub3 Takes First Step Toward Humanoid Robot Flight
Posted on June 21, 2025
The Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) has achieved a major milestone in humanoid robotics with the first flight of iRonCub3. The jet-powered flying humanoid robot lifted itself approximately 50 cm off the ground while maintaining its stability.
The overall work on iRonCub3, including real flight tests, took about two years. The robot has a titanium spine, four turbines and heat-resistant armor to withstand 800 °C exhausts and sonic-speed gas flows.
Unlike conventional drones, which have symmetric and compact structures, iRonCub3 has an elongated shape, with masses distributed across movable limbs and a variable center of mass. This required the development of advanced flight balance models that consider the robot's multibody dynamics and the interaction between jet propulsion and limb movements.
Dr. Daniele Pucci, the head of the Artificial and Mechanical Intelligence Lab at the Italian Institute of Technology, says, "This research is radically different from traditional humanoid robotics and forced us to make a substantial leap forward with respect to the state of the art. Here, thermodynamics plays a pivotal role - the emission gases from the turbines reach 700°C temperature and flow at nearly the speed of sound. Aerodynamics must be evaluated in real-time, while control systems must handle both slow joint actuators and fast jet turbines. Testing these robots is as fascinating as it is dangerous and there is no room for improvisation."
This video shows the robot's small but significant liftoff of 50 centimeters.
The study was published in Nature Communications Engineering.
Image: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia