Minerva unveils VR-controlled humanoid Roger for bomb disposal with $10M funding
Minerva Humanoids, a San Francisco-based startup, emerged from stealth this week with Roger, a VR-piloted humanoid designed for bomb disposal, hazardous material response, and offshore rig work. The robot allows human specialists to operate remotely from a safe distance, handling tasks requiring two-handed dexterity that currently require in-person risk exposure. Minerva secured approximately…
Key points
- Minerva Humanoids raised ~$10M pre-seed funding from General Catalyst and Hugging Face for its VR-controlled humanoid Roger
- Roger uses VR for remote operation, with AI managing balance, navigation, and fall recovery for bomb disposal and rig work
- Paid pilots in energy and EOD sectors begin this fall after a NATO demo in Slovakia
CEO Sandor Felber, formerly of Tesla’s Optimus and MIT’s humanoid research, and CTO Maurice Rahme, a former Boston Dynamics tech lead, lead the effort. Paid pilots in energy and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) are set to begin this fall after a demo at NATO’s EOD Centre of Excellence in Slovakia. Minerva argues that traditional bomb-disposal robots—often tracked vehicles with single arms—lack the dexterity to handle complex tasks safely from a distance.
Meet Roger, the bomb-squad humanoid
The Rundown AI · 8 October 2026
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