Tiangong, which China calls the world’s first fully electric running humanoid robot, has just been open-sourced.
The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, also known as Humanoid, just open sourced the AI-powered robot as China steps up its efforts to dominate humanoid robotics. The center calls Tiangong the world’s first echelon humanoid robot mother platform.
The developers say they’re focused on making the robot’s movements as humanlike as possible in real-world environments. Tiangong runs at an average speed of 10 kilometers per hour (6.2 mph). It maxes out at 12 km/h (7.5 mph).
At top speed, the robot would finish a 5K race in about 25 minutes. The robot would be faster than average human runners but slower than competitive runners who often complete 5Ks in under 20 minutes.
The robot can’t quite keep up with RobotEra’s Star1, which recently became the world’s fastest humanoid robot, reaching nearly 13 km/h (8 mph). However it surpasses Unitree’s H1, the previous fastest humanoid that clocked in at just under 12 km/h (7.4 mph).
Tiangong moves across different terrains like slopes, stairs, grass, sandbags, slippery gravel, and soft sand. The robot’s developers say its movement in outdoor settings aim to be as natural and graceful as humans.
Using a method called predictive imitation learning based on state memory, Tiangong navigates diverse environments without incident. Tiangong’s AI can understand emotions in real-time to interact with people, which could be useful for companionship applications.
The open-source release includes three versions of the humanoid robot:
- Tiangong 1.0 Lite focuses on andromorphic walking and running.
- Tiangong 1.1 Pro adds capabilities for upper and lower limb coordination and intelligent interaction.
- Tiangong 1.2 MAX is described as a fully linked embodied intelligent robot with closed-loop capabilities.
Since its release in April 2024, Tiangong has been trained in warehouse and power plant settings. The Beijing innovation center says the Tiangong open-source plan has resulted in more than 100 units being released, creating the world’s largest open community for embodied intelligent robots.
The humanoid center says more blueprints and systems for Tiangong will be available by the end of 2024 to support further development. The center lists several diverse use cases for Tiangong on its website including family services, intelligent interactive tours, unmanned commercial supermarkets, smart warehousing and logistics sorting, and power inspections in high-risk environments.
The Beijing innovation center is becoming key to China’s ambitious humanoid robotics plans. Officials recently elevated it to a national level research hub. That means the center, established in November 2023, gets funding from Beijing as well as the central government.
Developers plan to use the increased funding to establish industry standards, reduce research and development costs for enterprises, expand use cases, and accelerate product development. The ultimate goal is to make humanoid robots essential in industries like manufacturing and logistics.
The center is the first of its kind in China. Since its establishment, several more have popped up in manufacturing provinces.