Google Opens Gemini Robotics ER 2 to Businesses in Public Preview on Google Cloud
DeepMind's high-level planning model for robots is now available through Model Garden, paired with Google Cloud's security, simulation and deployment tools.
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Businesses can now build robot systems on Gemini Robotics ER 2 inside Google Cloud. On Oct. 27, Google made the model available in public preview on the Gemini platform through Model Garden. ER 2, short for Embodied Reasoning 2, acts as a robot's high-level "brain": it plans tasks, checks progress and directs lower-level control systems.
Until now, developers could use ER 2 through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. The Google Cloud announcement, by DeepMind robotics head Carolina Parada and Google's Adrian Jones, says the Cloud release adds enterprise security, multi-agent orchestration and tools for simulating, training and deploying robots.
What the model does
ER 2 is a vision-language model based on Gemini 3.5 Flash. According to the Gemini API docs, it takes text, images, video and audio and returns text. Developers declare control systems, such as vision-language-action (VLA) models or navigation APIs, as tools, and ER 2 decides when to call them.
Google highlights three skills:
- Checking its own work. The model rates task progress from video so a robot can retry a failed step without restarting the whole job.
- Finding the key moment. It picks the exact video frame of a critical event, like when to stop pouring, with 91.3% accuracy and an average error of 0.96 seconds.
- Reading instruments. It reads more than 10 kinds of gauges and displays, including dials, sight glasses, digital screens and thermometers.
Google says ER 2 runs at four times the speed, and a fraction of the compute cost, of many larger models. It also coordinates teams of different robots, from fixed arms to four-legged machines.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cloud release | Public preview via Model Garden, Oct. 27, 2026 |
| Base model | Gemini 3.5 Flash |
| Endpoints | gemini-robotics-er-2-preview, gemini-robotics-er-2-streaming-preview (Live API) |
| Token limits | 131,072 input / 65,536 output |
| Key-moment accuracy | 91.3%, 0.96 s average frame error |
| Gemini API price | $1 input / $5 output per 1M tokens through Dec. 31, 2026; $2 / $10 from Jan. 1, 2027 |
| Previous version | ER 1.6, deprecated Aug. 31, 2026 |
Who is using it
Early users quoted by Google include Boston Dynamics, which uses video AI for inspections with its Spot robot, and DeepReach, which uses ER 2 to label recordings of skilled human work. Arm is exploring how such models shape future robot chips. Singapore's A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering is using it to have robots read the touchscreen of a legacy lab reactor that has no API.
Why it matters
The Cloud release matters less for what ER 2 can do than for where it can run. Factories and labs rarely let experimental tools near production systems without access controls, audit trails and a way to test safely first. Google is bundling those pieces, from Isaac Sim and MuJoCo-Warp simulation to BigQuery telemetry and edge computing through Google Distributed Cloud.
The A*STAR example points to the real opportunity: older sites. Much industrial equipment can't be wired into modern software. A robot that reads a gauge or a touchscreen the way a person does can automate that work without replacing the machine.
The pricing also invites pilots. On the Gemini API, ER 2 costs half its list price through the end of 2026. Teams that want to test it cheaply have about two months, so budget for the doubled rate in production.
What to watch next
- The Jan. 1, 2027 price change. Check whether Google Cloud pricing matches the Gemini API rates, and whether enterprise discounts follow.
- Partner results. Look for real success rates from Boston Dynamics' Spot inspections and A*STAR's lab automation.
- General availability. A move from preview to GA would signal Google is ready to back the model for production use.
- Safety reporting. Watch the model card for updated evaluations as multi-robot deployments grow.
Sources
- Google Cloud Blog, "Gemini Robotics Embodied Reasoning 2 is now available on Google Cloud" (Oct. 27, 2026): https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/gemini-robotics-embodied-reasoning-2-is-now-available-on-google-cloud
- Google AI for Developers, Gemini Robotics ER overview: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/robotics-overview
- Google AI for Developers, Gemini Robotics ER 2 preview model page: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/models/gemini-robotics-er-2-preview
- Google AI for Developers, Gemini API pricing: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing
- Google DeepMind, Gemini Robotics ER 2 model card: https://deepmind.google/models/model-cards/gemini-robotics-er-2/
DailyMech used AI tools to help research and draft this article; it was fact-checked by our editors.