A leap into the future? The forward somersault of EngineAI's PM01

Fascination of robotics A leap into the future? The forward somersault of EngineAI's PM01

2025-03-06 By Sandro Kipar 2 min Reading Time

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In our section "Fascination of Robotics," we present extraordinary robots to you once a month. Today: A humanoid robot that has achieved the world's first forward somersault.

The PM01 was introduced at CES 2025 and is a lightweight, dynamic robot.(Image: EngineAI) — The PM01 was introduced at CES 2025 and is a lightweight, dynamic robot.
(Image: EngineAI)

The Chinese start-up EngineAI has made a breakthrough with its humanoid robot PM01: For the first time, a humanoid robot has successfully completed a full forward somersault. No other humanoid robot has achieved this so far.

The PM01, with its 138-centimeter (4 feet 6 inches) height and around 40 kilograms (88 pounds) weight, is truly an athlete among humanoid robots. According to the manufacturer, its extended degrees of freedom in the neck and waist provide great mobility and balance. But PM01 can do more than just acrobatic feats. It masters natural gaits, complex movements, and interacts with its environment through a screen on its chest. This makes it suitable not only for research and development but also for roles in industrial and educational areas. For quick decision-makers, it is available at an introductory price of 13,700 USD until March 31, 2025.

By the way, a backflip would have been nothing new: Several humanoid robots, including the Unitree H1 and Boston Dynamics' Atlas, can now perform a backflip. Atlas was the first humanoid robot to achieve this feat in 2017—even later with an additional twist. However, Boston Dynamics and Unitree also use larger robots, with heights of 1.5 (5 feet) and 1.8 meters (5 feet 11 inches), respectively.

What does this mean for the future of robotics?

A humanoid robot capable of performing a flip is more than just a technical gimmick. This development could propel humanoid machines into new application areas. Especially in industries, logistics, or healthcare, agile and mobile robots could take on challenging tasks in the future. EngineAI also demonstrates the power of the sensors, actuators, and artificial intelligence involved in coordinating and compensating movements in a fraction of a second with this highly complex movement sequence.

Robots from the company Tiangong training with their human colleagues. (Image:Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area)

In addition to the PM01, EngineAI has also introduced the models SE01 and SA01. The SE01, a 170-centimeter (5 feet 7 inches) tall and 55-kilogram (121 pounds) robot, can mimic human movements like squats and push-ups. The SA01, on the other hand, is an open platform for research and development, aimed at universities and developers.

EngineAI—Who is behind it?

Behind EngineAI is Zhao Tongyang, an experienced robotics entrepreneur who has previously advanced humanoid robots with Dogotix. His goal is to develop robots that not only perform tasks statically but also move dynamically in the world. With EngineAI, he aims to take humanoid machines to a new level—and the forward flip of the PM01 is a first, spectacular step in this direction.

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Date: 08.12.2025

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