Biped bot uses your old, dusty phone for brains

What happened

Biped bot operates with your old, dusty phone for brains, according to New Atlas Robotics. That old phone gathering dust in a drawer could have a second life far more entertaining than being a paperweight. UCLA researchers have created PhoneBot, a little humanoid (a robot built in roughly human shape) that puts your smartphone to work as the brains of a walking robot companion.

Robotics Biped bot operates with your old, dusty phone for brains By Omar Kardoudi October 12, 2026 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Flipboard Email / Biped bot uses your old, dusty phone for brains AI-generated image based on the real PhoneBot Ruochen Hou et al. / RoMeLa, UCLA / New Atlas View 3 Images 1 / 3 AI-generated image based on the real PhoneBot Ruochen Hou et al.

/ RoMeLa, UCLA / New Atlas 2 / 3 A smartphone supplies the camera, motion sensors and computing power for PhoneBot’s 13-motor body. / RoMeLa, UCLA 3 / 3 PhoneBot can walk, follow a person, and stand up from a face-down position.

/ RoMeLa, UCLA View gallery - 3 images That old phone gathering dust in a drawer could have a second life far more entertaining than being a paperweight. The little walker comes from the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Key facts

• Biped bot — uses: your old, dusty phone for brains, according to New Atlas Robotics
• Robotics Biped bot — uses: your old, dusty phone for brains By Omar Kardoudi October 12, 2026 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Flipboard Email / Biped bot uses your old, dusty phone for brains AI-generated image based on the real PhoneBot Ruochen Hou et al