Chinese robotics company unveils humanoid priced like a smartphone

 

 

Chinese robotics company unveils humanoid priced like a smartphone

Trung Quốc ra robot hình người 'rẻ ngang smartphone'

Standing 94 cm tall and weighing 12 kg, Bumi is a child-sized robot, not designed to compete with full-sized, high-performance humanoid robots from prominent Chinese firms like Unitree or UBTech, according to Interesting Engineering.

Targeted for educational and family use, Bumi features a lightweight design and is capable of walking on two legs and performing flexible dance movements, as reported by South China Morning Post.

Noetix said it views Bumi as a breakthrough, signaling "the entry of humanoid robots into the consumer market," combining scientific research with mass-market accessibility for the first time.

Its affordability is attributed to its use of lightweight composite materials, an in-house motion control system, and a simplified, modular design that focuses on educational engagement rather than heavy industrial functionality. It is powered by a 48V battery with a capacity of over 3.5Ah, allowing it to operate for 1-2 hours per charge.

Noetix plans to sell Bumi during China’s peak shopping seasons, Double 11 (Nov. 11) and Double 12 (Dec. 12), to capture attention during these key sales events.

Founded in 2023 by 27-year-old Jiang Zheyuan, Noetix first gained attention in April when its 118 cm N2 humanoid robot finished second in the world’s first human-humanoid half-marathon in Beijing, completing the race in three hours and 37 minutes. This achievement led to 2,500 pre-orders for the N2 robot, according to the company.

Meanwhile, the cheapest full-sized humanoid robot currently available is the Unitree R1, introduced in July at $5,900. Standing 1.21 meters tall, weighing 25 kg, and featuring 26 joints, the R1 uses a large multimodal language model, integrating both visual and speech capabilities.