Overview
- REK released short videos showing influencer Frankie LaPenna facing a six-foot humanoid robot inside a caged bout that the company posted after an event on Friday, Sept. 18.
- The clips show the robot delivering multiple powerful punches and a front kick that sent LaPenna across the cage and appearing to dominate the exchange.
- REK says the match was staged as development for a fast-paced virtual-reality robot‑combat product in which human pilots remotely control humanoid fighters and that more footage will follow.
- Coverage differs on basic facts: some outlets place the event in San Francisco while others report a private Austin gathering, and REK’s public replies claiming LaPenna “defeated” the robot conflict with the visible clips.
- The episode has intensified debate over participant safety, event transparency, and whether formal rules or oversight are needed for human–robot combat spectacles given the force these machines can generate.