Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsSome multimodal AI models still struggle to read an ordinary analog clock from a picture. In a University of Edinburgh study presented at the ICLR 2025 Workshop, the best clock score was only 22.58% exact match for Gemini 2.0. That is a poor result on this small benchmark—not proof that every AI product always misreads clocks.
The task sounds trivial: look at a clock face and answer, “What time is shown on the clock in the given image?” But an image-based answer requires several operations at once. A model must locate both hands, distinguish their shapes, map their angles to numbers, account for the hour hand’s position between numerals, and then produce an exact time string.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What the study actually tested
The paper, “Lost in Time: Clock and Calendar Understanding Challenges in Multimodal LLMs,” by Rohit Saxena, Aryo Pradipta Gema and Pasquale Minervini, evaluated seven multimodal large language models in a zero-shot setting. The authors describe the work as preliminary and use relatively small, purpose-built datasets.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
ClockQA: six kinds of clock faces
ClockQA contained 62 analog-clock images covering six variants:
#1 Best Overall
- Remote Control and Hand Gesture Control:This gesture sensing robot not only can be controlled by infrared controller, but also can turn left ,turn right, slide backward, and slide forward according to how your hand gesture commands; Multi function includes auto display and obstacles avoidance as well;The toy robot’s eyes light up with bright blue illuminating LED when it moves;
- Intelligent Programming: This smart robot toy can demonstrating a set of 50 actions inputted by the user.If you switch programming function,this Interactive robot will playback using its moves record feature to repeat the movement one by one as you created like turn left+turn right+walk forward+walk backward+patrol+dance+and many others action mode you selected;
- Premium Material:This Remote Control Robot is made of non-toxic ABS plastic, with flexible multi-joint in shoulder,elbows and thumbs ,and the bottom skating wheels are pretty sturdy to well carry out a various combination of moves;This playful robot really entertain your kids and bring you endless joys;
- Convenient Rechargeable Robot Toy:this RC robot is powered by built-in batteries.Directly connect to USB charging interface like your power bank,plug,computers.Rechargeable way saves your money for batteries and you only recharge the robot about 2 hours, and its playtime is about 60 minutes;
- Ideal Birthday Xmas Gift & Kids Intimate Companion : The infrared control Robot is versatile and vivid can dance,sing,walk,patrol,even can speak with a charming accent;Don’t scratch your head to search gifts but directly pick this intelligent robot for your kids;It is an amazing gift kids will be thrilled with and this robot will entertain you so much.
- standard clock faces;
- black dials;
- clocks without second hands;
- easy, on-the-hour examples;
- Roman-numeral faces; and
- arrow-style hands.
The visual style mattered. Roman numerals and stylized hands produced more errors, showing that the challenge is not simply knowing what a clock is. It is precise visual parsing followed by numerical reasoning.
CalendarQA: dates, weekdays and counting
The researchers also tested yearly calendar images covering 10 years, with six questions for each year. Examples included “Which day of the week is Christmas?” and “What is the 153rd day of the year?” These questions combine reading a grid with date lookup or day-counting.
Rank #2
- [Telescope Suction Cup Robot Toy] The coolest Telescope Suction Cup Robot Toy of 2026, which combines the pop tube into limbs and uses suction cups instead of palms and soles of feet. Allow toddlers to freely explore their designs, improve their fine motor skills, or simply calm down while airplane traveling
- [Autism Sensory Toys for Classroom] Pop, wrinkle, pull, stretch! The continuous popping sound will excite toddlers. The bottom suction cup can be connected to smooth surfaces such as mirrors, windows, and tiles. Children can enjoy their playtime in classroom, home, restaurant, airplane and road trip.
- [Road Trip Travel Activities Essentials] The telescopic suction cup robot toy can pop, stretch, twist, and wrap, helping to cultivate children's fine motor skills and creative thinking. Helping children relieve stress and calm down during the plane/car journey and restaurant, especially suitable for ADHD and autism
- [2026 Small Cool Toy Set] Equipped with 4 different colors, made of high-quality ABS and lead-free plastic, it has sufficient toughness and durability to withstand long-term play, fully meeting the safety standards of American children's toys
- [Easter Basket Stuffer For Kids] Telescopic suction cup toys can effectively help focus and promote sensory development. This is an fun and cool Easter Basket Essentials for kids、toddlers and grandkid. Perfect as a gift for birthdays, Valentine's Day Classroom, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Halloween
The headline numbers—and how to read them
| Task | Reported result | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| ClockQA | Gemini 2.0: 22.58% exact match | Whether the complete clock answer exactly matched the expected answer |
| CalendarQA | GPT-o1: 80.0% accuracy | Correct answers across calendar questions |
| ClockQA size | 62 images | Six clock-face variants |
| CalendarQA size | 10 years, six questions per year | Image-based date, weekday and counting questions |
These metrics should not be merged into a general ranking. A clock exact-match score and a calendar accuracy score are different measurements, on different questions and datasets. GPT-o1’s stronger calendar result also did not mean it performed equally well on every calendar question type.
The precise results appear in the authors’ paper, “Lost in Time: Clock and Calendar Understanding Challenges in Multimodal LLMs”. A popular account in Futurism’s March 19, 2025 article described Gemini as the best of the tested models for clocks; the paper’s exact figure is the 22.58% Gemini 2.0 score shown above.
Rank #3
- Remote Control and Hand Gesture Control:This gesture sensing robot not only can be controlled by infrared controller, but also can turn left ,turn right, slide backward, and slide forward according to how your hand gesture commands; Multi function includes auto display and obstacles avoidance as well;The toy robot’s eyes light up with bright blue illuminating LED when it moves;
- Intelligent Programming: This smart robot toy can demonstrating a set of 50 actions inputted by the user.If you switch programming function,this Interactive robot will playback using its moves record feature to repeat the movement one by one as you created like turn left+turn right+walk forward+walk backward+patrol+dance+and many others action mode you selected;
- Premium Material:This Remote Control Robot is made of non-toxic ABS plastic, with flexible multi-joint in shoulder,elbows and thumbs ,and the bottom skating wheels are pretty sturdy to well carry out a various combination of moves;This playful robot really entertain your kids and bring you endless joys;
- Convenient Rechargeable Robot Toy:this RC robot is powered by built-in batteries.Directly connect to USB charging interface like your power bank,plug,computers.Rechargeable way saves your money for batteries and you only recharge the robot about 2 hours, and its playtime is about 60 minutes;
- Ideal Birthday Xmas Gift & Kids Intimate Companion : The infrared control Robot is versatile and vivid can dance,sing,walk,patrol,even can speak.Each robot measures 5.9 x 3.3 x 10.6 inch.
Why an analog clock is harder than it looks
Small visual errors change the answer
On a digital display, the model can usually read four digits. On an analog face, the answer is encoded in angles and relative hand lengths. A slight error in locating a hand can change the minute, and the hour hand moves continuously rather than jumping from one numeral to the next.
Style variation breaks familiar shortcuts
Roman numerals, dark backgrounds, missing second hands and unusual arrow shapes alter the visual cues a model may rely on. A system that has learned a strong pattern for a conventional white clock can still fail when the same information is presented in a less familiar design.
Rank #4
- Multifunctional Robot: LED eyes can light up once you turn on the robot, you can also make it blink or closed by the controller. Smart Voice - turn on the robot it will start talking, he can also sing different songs which can be switched by remote; the track of the tank allows the robot to move forward backward left, and right flexibly. Under demo mode, it will begin 360-degree spins, dancing with flexible arms and heads.
- Fantastic Unique Appearance: This cute and funny robot is designed in 3 parts. The upper part is a cute robot with a pair of LED eyes and the head and arms are flexible. The bottom part is designed as a continuous track of a tank, so cool! Songs singing will absorb your baby. Combining a cute appearance, beautiful big eyes, flexible limbs, and a smart voice function, your baby will love this toy robot.
- Easy to Operate: Equipped with tracks of tanks, 6 wheels, and a 2.4GHz remote controller, the RC robot can move and dance under the control of the child, ideal for the child's entry-level remote-control toys. One-click demonstration of automatic dancing will provide hours of fun to children. 2.4G Hz no interference controller makes several robots can run at the same time.
- Entertaining and Educational: For children who have just formed a cognition of the world, this easy-to-operate robot can help them begin to exercise their operational skills and imagination. The joyful singing will greatly stimulate the children's language communication potential, and the cute shapes will bring happiness to children and promote physical and mentally healthy. Excellent girls boys toys age 4-5.
- Ultimate Robot Toys Ideas: Are you looking for an ideal and exciting present for a birthday, Christmas, or festival? Choose this, and children will love it!! It is as entertaining as it is educational, a better choice than a robot dog. We adopt exqRobot length, width and height: L*W*H=4.92*3.34*4.72 inchuisite packaging for this robot, what you get in the box: 1 remote-controlled robot, 1 remote control, 1 Type C charge cable, 1 screwdriver, 1 user manual, and batteries for the controller.
The answer requires structured inference
Recognizing two lines is only the beginning. The model must decide which is the hour hand, convert positions into minutes, reconcile the hour hand’s intermediate position, and format one exact answer. The paper links the errors to a combination of visual precision, numerical computation and structured inference.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
What the result does—and does not—show
- It does show: the seven tested multimodal models had a substantial weakness on this bounded analog-clock benchmark, with style and question design affecting performance.
- It does show: image-based calendar reasoning can fail in a different way, especially when a question requires counting or date arithmetic rather than a familiar lookup.
- It does not show: that all AI systems always fail to tell time.
- It does not show: how often a particular consumer app fails in ordinary scheduling, accessibility or assistant workflows.
- It does not show: that a model with the best clock score is generally “best at time.”
Lead author Rohit Saxena summarizes the motivation this way: “Understanding time from visual representations is a fundamental cognitive skill, yet it remains a challenge for multimodal large language models (MLLMs).”
Best Value
- EXPERIENCE THE CLASSIC CONVERSION PLAY OF TRANSFORMERS TOYS: Transformers toys that change from robot to vehicle have captivated kids for generations.
- 2 TOYS IN 1: This toy robot changes into the signature red and blue Optimus Prime toy truck in 6 simple steps. Easy conversion for kids 6 years old and up.
- FAVORITE TRANSFORMERS CHARACTER: Transformers follows the story of the heroic Autobots, who fight to protect all life, and the evil Decepticons, who seek to conquer the universe. This timeless 11-inch Cyber Commander Series figure depicts Optimus Prime, legendary leader of the Autobots--essential when starting a Transformers toy collection.
- IMAGINE EXCITING BATTLES: Collect other 11-inch Cyber Commander Series Transformers figures so kids can imagine their own Autobot vs. Decepticon battles (Each sold separately. Subject to availability).
- MAKES A GREAT GIFT: This classic Optimus Prime action figure makes the perfect birthday or holiday gift.
How to use AI safely when the image matters
For a low-stakes curiosity, asking an image model to read a clock can be entertaining. For alarms, medication schedules, transport, work deadlines or other consequential decisions, verify the answer against the image or a reliable digital time source. If you are evaluating a model, test several face styles and include both straightforward readings and questions that require date counting. Report the model version, image style, question type and metric rather than a single impression of whether it “understands time.”
Bottom line
Reading an analog clock is a deceptively compact test of multimodal reasoning. In this ICLR 2025 workshop study, Gemini 2.0 reached only 22.58% exact match on 62 clock images, while GPT-o1 reached 80.0% on a separate calendar benchmark. The numbers reveal a specific, benchmark-limited weakness in visual parsing and structured reasoning—not a universal inability to tell time.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Recommended Free Tools
