Recently, British artificial intelligence and robotics startup Humanoid released a compelling video showing its latest universal humanoid robot HMND01. This robot adopts a bipedal design, which can simulate human movements and movements, and has complete structures such as the head, torso, arms and legs. Its five-finger hand design not only has high-speed operation capabilities, but also can accurately complete complex tasks, thanks to the high torque and high-speed actuators it is equipped with.
"The biggest advantage of humanoid robots is that they can seamlessly integrate and quickly adapt to the existing environment because the world is designed for humans." The HMND01 is a next-generation labor automation unit powered by artificial intelligence. It is about 1.75 meters tall and weighs 70 kg, and can walk at 3.4 miles per hour, with an average battery life of 4 hours and a carrying capacity of 15 kg.
The hardware and software of HMND01 adopt a modular design, and customers can choose different upper, lower and end effector configurations according to actual needs. In addition, the robot also provides a variety of protective garments to ensure the safety of its systems and surrounding environment. Humanoid plans to realize the large-scale commercial production of HMND01 with low total cost of ownership (TCO). Its main application areas will start from industry, including cargo handling, sorting and packaging, component processing, etc., and will also expand to retail, manufacturing, logistics and warehousing centers in the future.
The company revealed that it will develop and test an alpha prototype for a wheeled and bipedal platform this year, and has been discussed with several retail companies on potential pilot projects. As market competition intensifies, electric vehicle manufacturers have emerged in this field. Last year, Tesla launched its Optimus robot and plans to sell it for $25,000 to $30,000 next year. Meanwhile, Chinese electric car maker Xiaopeng has also launched its humanoid robot Iron, which has been put into use at the company's factory.
In addition, technology giants Apple and Meta are also reported to be developing their own artificial intelligence robots. Meta recently set up a new technology team in its Reality Lab hardware department, and Apple is also actively exploring related technologies. Humanoid adheres to the belief that “humans and machines work side by side, not competition, but coexist in harmony”. Sokolov said: “This social transformation will solve social problems such as labor shortage and aging, while giving people more freedom to focus on more creative and meaningful work.”
As a universal humanoid robot, HMND01 is suitable for multiple industrial applications due to its high-speed operation capabilities and modular design, and plans to achieve large-scale commercial production in the future. As market competition intensifies, electric car manufacturers such as Tesla and Xiaopeng, as well as technology giants such as Apple and Meta are actively developing humanoid robots, indicating the rapid development and widespread application of this field.