Munich Opens Giant Robot Gym for 100 Robots
A massive new training centre called RoboGym has opened near Munich Airport, where around 100 robots are learning real-world tasks like folding boxes.
Imagine walking into a sports centre and seeing mechanical arms lifting tools and humanoids bending down to pick up packages. On 22 October 2026, scientists and engineers in Germany officially opened the TUM RoboGym powered by NEURA. This special robot gym in Munich is located at the LabCampus innovation centre near Munich Airport, giving around 100 robots a dedicated place to practice their daily motor skills!
The training facility was created through a partnership between German tech firm NEURA Robotics and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), working with its Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI). The project is part of a three-year programme costing an initial 17 million euros, with NEURA contributing roughly 11 million euros. Spanning more than 2,300 square metres, it is designed as one of the largest dedicated training spaces for embodied artificial intelligence in Europe.
What happened?
Robots cannot simply read an article on the internet to learn how to hold an object without dropping it. While software chatbots learn from online text, physical robots need real-world experience to understand how the world works. Inside this giant facility, there are 48 individual training cells where an initial fleet of around 100 humanoid and service machines practice physical routines every single day.
Instead of lifting weights, these robots master practical tasks that humans do naturally. Inside their booths, the robots practice folding cardboard boxes, sorting different items, assembling components, and operating handheld tools. Every single movement made in the gym is recorded and fed into a massive cloud data lake. This valuable information trains machines to move smoothly and work safely alongside human beings.
The opening ceremony was hosted by TUM President Thomas Hofmann, NEURA Robotics founder and CEO David Reger, and Bavarian Science Minister Markus Blume. To celebrate the grand launch, the team unveiled 4NE1 Gen 4, pronounced ‘For Anyone.’ This fourth-generation humanoid robot is designed for commercial series production and is 20 percent lighter than the version built before it.
The new 4NE1 Gen 4 robot features a streamlined design fitted with a black textile protective outer skin. It has special ‘Smart Limbs’ with built-in local reflexes that help it react independently if it meets unexpected obstacles. The humanoid also has improved gripping hands and is powered by Neuron AI, a smart foundation model that combines 3D computer vision, acoustic signals, touch sensors, force feedback, and an internal memory.
Why does it matter to you?
When you learn to write with a pencil, ride a bicycle, or bowl a cricket ball, you have to practice over and over again until your hands know exactly what to do. Robots must train in the exact same way to handle physical objects gently!
Seeing machines learn inside a gym shows how engineers and computer scientists are working together to build helpful assistants. In the future, robots with safe reflexes and careful hands could help doctors in hospitals, support workers in factories, or assist people with difficult chores at home.
Words to know
- Humanoid: A robot built with a body structure that resembles a human being, often having arms, legs, and a head.
- Embodied artificial intelligence: Computer intelligence that lives inside a physical body, allowing a machine to interact with the real world.
- Reflex: An automatic and quick physical reaction to an unexpected touch or obstacle.
- Data lake: A large digital storage space where huge amounts of information and measurements are collected for computers to study.
Did you know?
The name of the 4NE1 robot is a clever word puzzle that sounds just like ‘For Anyone,’ showing that it is built to help all kinds of people!
Think about it
If you could design a training booth in the RoboGym, what household chore would you teach a robot to do first? Why is it important for robots to have quick reflexes when working around humans?
Quick quiz
What is the name of the new fourth-generation humanoid robot unveiled at the RoboGym?
- 4NE1 Gen 4
- MIRMI Bot
- Neuron 100
See the answer
4NE1 Gen 4
Sources
This story was prepared by the Kids Gazette news desk with the help of AI research and writing tools, using the sources listed above.
