China’s latest humanoid robots are built for the runway.
In Shenzhen, LimX Dynamics just launched its interactive humanoid Luna, a feminized version of its flagship Oli. Its tagline is: “Limitless Art, Fluid Motion.”
Luna stands 160 cm (5 feet 3 inches), weighs 54 kg (119 lbs), and boasts 27 degrees of freedom (DoF) throughout its body. Its hot-swappable battery supports about 4 hours of runtime per charge. It has palm-shaped hands by default but integrates with fist-shaped hands or dexterous five-fingered end effectors with 6 DoF. Its walking speed is 5 km/h (3.1 mph) and it can carry 3 kg (6.6 lbs) with each arm.
While LimX’s other robots are engineered for factories and warehouses, Luna is meant for public facing roles and stage performances. According to LimX, Luna can copy moves from videos, create performances from natural language instructions, use humanlike gestures for communication, and perform in groups of more than 200 robots at the same time.
Pricing reportedly starts around $43,000, with the first 100 units offered at $38,000.
LimX, launched in 2022 by SUSTECH professor Zhang Wei, is scaling production of its humanoid robots and its TRON multi-form-factor platform after recently securing around $200 million in Series B funding. Its backers include Alibaba and the Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com.
Also in Shenzhen, UBTECH Robotics is taking a similar approach with its latest offering, the Walker C1. The full-sized commercial service robot is a departure from the company’s heavy-duty humanoids that are being deployed by industrial giants like Airbus and Texas Instruments.
Rather than factory floors, it’s engineered for roles like teaching ballet. Technical details are limited, but it will make its public debut in June. when it serves as the first robotic spokesperson for the 4th China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing.