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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteMinerva Humanoids has announced about $10 million in pre-seed funding to develop Roger, a humanoid robot intended for hazardous industrial and public-safety work. The plan is to let trained specialists operate the robot remotely, with onboard software assisting movement—not to send an autonomous machine to dispose of bombs on its own.
What is Minerva Humanoids’ Roger robot?
Roger is a humanoid robot that Minerva says it is developing for work in dangerous environments. The company’s stated aim is to put a remotely operated machine in places where a human worker or responder could face serious hazards, while an operator directs it from a safer location.
The Next Web reported on October 6, 2026, that Minerva raised about $10 million in pre-seed funding. It named General Catalyst as lead investor, with Long Journey Ventures and Credo Ventures as co-leads, alongside other backers. The funding announcement supports product development; it is not evidence of a production rollout or a fleet already operating at industrial sites.
How is Roger intended to help with bomb disposal?
Minerva describes Roger as semi-autonomous. A trained specialist views the environment through the robot’s cameras and controls the task remotely. Onboard software is intended to assist with balance, navigation, and recovery if the robot falls. The operator—not the robot—retains control of the hazardous work.
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For explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), this approach could let an operator inspect or handle a hazard without making the same close approach on foot. Minerva’s head of hazardous operations, Dominic Asquith, was quoted by The Next Web as saying, “Every EOD operator knows the long walk,” referring to the distance an operator may need to cover toward a suspected explosive.
That describes the intended value of remote operation, not proof that Roger has safely or successfully completed bomb-disposal missions. The sources reviewed do not establish independently verified performance, certification, or routine deployment for EOD work.
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What jobs is Roger designed to do?
Minerva and The Next Web describe several intended application areas:
- Explosive ordnance disposal: Remote work around suspected explosive devices.
- Hazardous-material response: Tasks in environments where dangerous substances may threaten responders.
- Offshore oil and gas: Remote operations and other work in hazardous energy facilities.
- High-voltage energy sites: Inspection, condition monitoring, and emergency response, as described on Minerva’s website.
These are target uses, not confirmation that Roger is already performing all of them. The Next Web reported that Minerva had completed on-site testing for public-safety work and expected its first paid pilots to begin in autumn 2026. Those are reported company-status details; they do not establish commercial deployment or independently validated results.
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What has been demonstrated—and what remains unverified?
The available sources describe the robot’s intended workflow and report on-site public-safety testing, but do not provide independent test results. They also do not establish Roger’s safety record, reliability in routine operations, certifications, or performance in live EOD or industrial emergencies.
Minerva’s website shows an 80 ms command-delay illustration, but labels it as illustrative rather than a measured connection result. Its contact-feedback display is modeled from grasp and wheel motion; it is not measured force or pressure data. Neither graphic should be treated as a specification for latency or touch sensing.
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Minerva’s press page also lists a January 28, 2026 announcement of a strategic research partnership with MBZUAI focused on humanoid robotics for the energy sector. That establishes a research partnership announcement, not a particular field capability or commercial result.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why is Minerva pursuing hazardous work?
The company’s case is that remote robots could reduce the need for people to enter dangerous settings. CEO Sandor Felber told The Next Web, “People are dying every day doing jobs the rest of the world takes for granted,” and added, “We didn’t set out to replace the people doing them.”
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The same report relayed Minerva’s estimate that about 7,000 energy workers die annually. This is a company estimate, not an independently established official statistic: The Next Web said Minerva applied a global fatal-work-accident rate to an estimate of the energy-worker population, but the underlying datasets and enough methodological detail to verify the figure were not provided.
What the funding announcement means for readers
Minerva’s announcement is best understood as an early-stage product-development story. The company has funding, a named robot, stated target applications, and reported testing and pilot plans. The available material does not show that Roger is commercially available or that it has proven it can safely replace or outperform established equipment in these settings.
The Next Web also reported Minerva’s criticism that some established tracked EOD robots use a single manipulator arm. That is the company’s positioning, not an independent assessment of the wider EOD-robot market. Any meaningful comparison would need evidence on task dexterity, operator distance and safety, operating conditions, reliability, and independently demonstrated performance.
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