RAI's two-armed AthenaZero robot throws at 30 m/s and bats 82% of pitches

The Robotics and AI Institute's AthenaZero uses low-inertia, quasi-direct-drive joints that cut endpoint mass by roughly an order of magnitude. It throws a ball faster than 30 m/s, catches objects at about 14 m/s and made contact on 27 of 33 batting attempts (82%). The results appear in the September 2026 issue of Science Robotics.

• Throws exceed 30 m/s; catching and batting exceed 14 m/s over a 7.3-meter distance
• Batting contact rate reached 27 of 33 attempts, or 82%
• Endpoint mass is about an order of magnitude lower than conventional manipulators
• Tests were run under controlled laboratory conditions, not in open environments