Who Is Robert The Robot, The Face-Swapping Humanoid? - MRKT3.0

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Who Is Robert The Robot, The Face-Swapping Humanoid?

Grace Sharp

July 20, 2026

Takeaways

Robert the Robot cycles through the faces of Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg on a single digital screen, no silicone masks required.<br>He was the viral star of Geneva’s AI for Good summit, which pulled more than 12,000 people from 170 countries this year.<br>RB Labs first pitched Robert as an AI financial adviser back in 2025, but it is the face-swapping party trick, not the finance, that made him famous.

In the past, when people imagined what robots would be capable of, a few scenarios probably came to mind. Would they rise up in a metallic apocalypse, uniting against their creators like in the cult favourite ‘The Terminator’? Or would they become perfectly obedient servants, quietly handling the drudgery of life so humankind could finally enjoy some leisure?<br>Even though these ideas sit at opposite extremes, it’s fair to say that neither vision included anything quite like Robert the Robot .<br>A Swiss humanoid robot displaying the faces of world leaders debuted at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, with its maker saying the tech aims to make human-machine interaction more natural pic.twitter.com/KnAcEoknc6<br>— Reuters (@Reuters) July 9, 2026

This July, Robert was the talk of the town at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, wandering around, chatting and posing for photos with visitors. What drew people’s attention to Robert? His face was casually swapping to Donald Trump , then Barack Obama , then Mark Zuckerberg .<br>He isn’t the only robot with a personality we’ve covered on MRKT 3.0 , but he might be the strangest.<br>Let Me Introduce You to Robert the Robot<br>Robert is the work of RB Labs , a Geneva start-up, and he is not your average fixed-expression humanoid. Where most robots are stuck with one moulded face, Robert’s head is a high-resolution digital screen that renders human faces and emotions in real time. Neutral, warm, surprised, focused.<br>Interestingly, Robert did not start life as a summit novelty. RB Labs, co-founded by Metodi Dimitrov , Robin Krambroeckers and Lin Dayen-Hsu , originally built him as an AI financial adviser, complete with market insights, blockchain analysis and multilingual guidance. RB Labs describes Robert as "the first AI-powered humanoid robot designed for enterprise integration and business operations."<br>But, somewhere between the pitch deck and the exhibition hall, Robert the finance robot picked up a new party trick.<br>Should you invest in crypto? Buy an expensive car? Or have a nice milkshake? I answer to everything by analyzing the market, the trends and international politics!

I am Robert, the Swiss Banking Robot: go on and ask me what ever you want! pic.twitter.com/jv2EDh8TTT<br>— Robert the Robot (@robert_bulls1) June 19, 2025

A Face-Swapping Robot That Wears Trump’s Face<br>RB Labs says the whole reason for the screen is trust. The team notes that they "create expressive robots designed for communication," adding that "communication happens largely through non-verbal cues, and that is crucial when interacting with a robot."<br>But is this face actually trustworthy to you?<br>Credit: hereFor most people, I’d wager that it’s not convincing enough to fool you and not warm enough to reassure you. One X user explained:<br>"The desire to make robots that look like humans instead of robots designed for increased functionality is bizarre to me. Either it is a profound admission by science that the human form is optimal or a severe lack of imagination and ingenuity. Making them ‘human’ is more creepy!"<br>But perhaps Robert’s unusual face is exactly what RB Labs wants. After all, it is part of the reason he went so viral.<br>However, it also opens a trapdoor. Would you want a robot wearing Trump’s face comforting you? What happens when robots start wearing your face, and what does bringing one into your home mean for your privacy? RB Labs frames the tech as honest augmentation rather than replacement, a robot that’s unmistakably a robot rather than a deepfake in a trench coat. It’s a fair line. It’s also one the face-swap demo walks straight up to and pokes.<br>Where Does Robert Fit In Europe’s Robot Menagerie?<br>Robert joins a growing cast of European robots MRKT 3.0 has been tracking. He is hot on the heels of Edward Warchocki, the Warsaw robot who spent 2026 chasing wild boars and launching his own supermarket drinks, and Enchanted Tools’ anime-inspired Mirokai companions.<br>Edward Warchocki is a 132cm tall humanoid robot who has gone viral in Poland after being kicked out of a museum.

They called security. Then the police. He made it content.

Meet Edward: https://t.co/0eTbI1masb#HumanoidRobots #AIWarsaw #EdwardWarchocki<br>— Mrkt3.0 (@Mrkt30news) March 30, 2026

There is a real market underneath the theatrics. Ageing populations, a loneliness epidemic and bottomless...