Key Takeaways
- VicOne released the free Radeis Extension for NVIDIA Isaac Sim to enable pre‑deployment cyber‑safety testing of robots.
- The extension translates real‑world attack research—including findings from DEF CON 34’s Robotic Hacking Community—into repeatable simulation scenarios.
- Developers can import their own robot models, tasks, and operating assumptions into Isaac Sim and evaluate how digital compromises (e.g., adversarial visual inputs, hijacked commands, poisoned AI policies) affect overall robot behavior.
- By testing at the system level, teams can uncover behavior‑changing risks that may not appear when vulnerabilities are examined in isolation.
- The Radeis Extension is now available for download and supports engineering, safety, and security teams in discussing risk through observable robot outcomes rather than abstract software findings.
Overview of VicOne’s Radeis Extension
VicOne Inc. introduced the Radeis Extension for NVIDIA Isaac Sim as a tool specifically designed for pre‑deployment robot cyber‑safety validation. The extension is free and integrates directly with NVIDIA’s physics‑based simulation platform, allowing developers to assess how cyber attacks could alter a robot’s physical behavior before any hardware is built or deployed. By embedding curated attack scenarios derived from VicOne’s automotive‑focused cybersecurity expertise and DEF CON research, Radeis bridges the gap between theoretical vulnerability analysis and practical, observable robot outcomes.
Motivation Behind the Extension
As robotics companies transition from proving isolated use cases to scaling deployments in real‑world environments, the need to verify not only functional correctness but also resilience against digital compromise has become critical. Max Cheng, VicOne’s CEO, emphasized that cyber‑safety validation must become a standard part of robotics development. He noted that turning DEF CON research into repeatable simulation scenarios helps developers address risks earlier, fostering the creation of more resilient physical AI at scale.
VicOne’s Background and Expertise
Founded in 2022, VicOne leverages its automotive cybersecurity heritage as a subsidiary of Trend Micro to protect the digital systems that govern how vehicles and robots perceive, decide, and act. The company serves OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, robot makers, and operators by identifying cyber risks early, assessing their safety impact, and safeguarding systems during operation. To date, VicOne has uncovered more than 180 zero‑day vulnerabilities across automotive and robotics domains, ingested over 100 million threat‑intelligence signals monthly, and filed 30 U.S. patent applications related to AI‑defined vehicle and physical‑AI security.
Learning from DEF CON 34
VicOne’s Radeis Extension is informed by hands‑on research conducted at DEF CON 34’s Robotic Hacking Community, where the company hosted a Physical AI Safety Stress Test capture‑the‑flag (CTF) exercise. Security researchers examined how digital compromises could manipulate robot behavior under controlled conditions, targeting AI models, perception pipelines, cloud and API services, robotics communications, and embedded systems. The CTF utilized platforms such as the Reachy Mini and LeKiwi robots, giving participants tangible systems to explore the physical consequences of cybersecurity flaws.
Insights Gained from the CTF Exercise
During the DEF CON 34 event, 16 teams achieved 25 successful solves, with nearly every core AI and robotics cyber‑safety challenge cracked at least once. The sole unsolved challenge involved an advanced embedded‑systems task centered on cryptography and firmware vulnerabilities. VicOne analyzed both successful and unsuccessful attempts to refine scenarios involving manipulated visual inputs, hijacked commands, poisoned AI policies, and exploited connected interfaces. This iterative process highlighted that behavior‑changing risks can emerge across multiple layers of the robot stack, reinforcing the necessity of system‑level cybersecurity evaluation rather than isolated component testing.
How the Radeis Extension Works
The extension enables developers to bring their own robot model and intended task into NVIDIA Isaac Sim, then apply curated cyber‑safety scenarios derived from VicOne’s research and DEF CON findings. Users can validate whether a vision‑language model (VLM) remains robust against adversarial visual prompts, malicious inputs, or sensor manipulation attempts that could lead to misinterpretation or unsafe decisions. Tests can be repeated as models, software, sensors, communication stacks, or control architectures evolve, ensuring ongoing validation throughout the development lifecycle.
Integration with NVIDIA Isaac Sim
NVIDIA Isaac Sim provides a physically based environment for designing, simulating, testing, and validating AI‑driven robots. By adding cyber‑safety scenarios and behavioral‑impact observation capabilities, the Radeis Extension augments existing simulation workflows with security‑focused edge‑case analysis. Developers can observe deviations from the robot’s intended task, operating boundaries, or expected responses, thereby gaining concrete evidence of how digital threats might manifest in physical actions. Importantly, the extension allows testing within the developer’s specific robot model and task context, moving beyond generic demonstration environments.
Value Proposition for Robotics Teams
VicOne positions the Radeis Extension as a practical starting point for exploring cyber‑to‑physical risk. The free tool enables engineering, safety, and security teams to discuss risk through visible robot outcomes rather than treating vulnerabilities as abstract software findings. For organizations requiring a more comprehensive assessment, VicOne offers the full Radeis solution, which evaluates component, system, and AI‑model risks and determines how vulnerabilities and attack scenarios could affect the integrated robot’s behavior. This deeper analysis supports remediation planning, release decisions, and compliance readiness.
Availability and Accessibility
The VicOne Radeis Extension for NVIDIA Isaac Sim is now available as a free download for developers using supported versions of the simulator. By lowering the barrier to entry for cyber‑safety testing, VicOne aims to make security validation a routine part of robot development pipelines. Teams can immediately begin importing their models, applying VicOne‑curated attack scenarios, and observing the potential impact of digital compromises on robot behavior—all within a safe, repeatable simulation environment before moving to costly physical testing or field deployment.