Kepler Exploration Robotics (Shanghai Kepler Robot Co.) · industrial humanoid
Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee'
A factory humanoid with a hybrid actuator design claiming 8 hours of work per charge and about 15 kg per hand. Sources give 175 cm/75 kg or 178 cm/85 kg.
- Price
- $30,000Cheaper than 46%
- Height
- 175 cmTaller than 73%
- Weight
- 75 kgHeavier than 68%
- Payload
- 15 kgCarries more than 60%
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- 8 hRuns longer than 75%
Official maker page, not an affiliate link. Checked 2026-10-10.
Not sure this is the one? Find the best robot for your job Starts with: move boxes or carts. Five more quick questions.
Why it matters
A pilot use humanoid from Kepler Exploration Robotics.
Real-world use
In limited-series production; industrial testing at a Shanghai car plant reported in 2025.
Maker
Kepler Exploration Robotics (Shanghai Kepler Robot Co.)Company · founded 2023 · Shanghai, ChinaUndisclosed recent round (The Robot Report, 2025).
How it stacks up
Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee' is taller than 73% of the 305 other humanoids that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee' is heavier than 68% of the 277 other humanoids that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee' carries more than 60% of the 132 other humanoids that publish a payload. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee' has more joints than 86% of the 236 other humanoids that publish a joints. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee' runs longer than 75% of the 119 other humanoids that publish a battery. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee' costs less than 46% of the 85 other humanoids that publish a price. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: speed.
What it has been shown doing
2 of 14 skills we track, each from a public video or report. Demos can be staged or remote-controlled; we say so when the source does.
- Pick & sortprecision sorting in a simulated industrial setting during an 8-hour WAIC livestream · Jul 2025 · prnewswire.com
- Assemble partsreal-world scenario testing at SAIC-GM's Shanghai plant doing quality checks and assembly operations · Apr 2025 · interestingengineering.com
Not shown yet:FoldKitchenToolsFineStairsTerrainGet upRunJumpCarryOn siteAutonomous
Public attention
A hidden gem: a recent robot with full published specs that gets little attention so far.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- 3 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
- 2 reported deployments
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
The parts the company has talked about publicly.
- Movement
- Walks on legs · 52 joints
- Actuators & motors
- Hybrid architecture: proprietary planetary roller screw linear actuators (14 per robot, about 20% of cost) plus rotary harmonic actuators; 52 body DoF plus 2 head.
- Hands
- Tendon-driven tactile hands, 11 DoF each, 15 kg per hand; flexible fingertip sensors with 96 contact points; six-axis force/torque sensor at each wrist; task-specific swappable hands.
- Sensors & vision
- Over 80 integrated sensors.
- Compute
- 100 TOPS on board; cloud cognitive model linked to embodied control.
- Battery & power
- 2.33 kWh; about 8 hours on a 1-hour charge; direct and automatic charging.
- AI & software
- Imitation and reinforcement learning; autonomous task sequences in structured settings; remote-operation interface.
- Other details
- Payload 15 kg per arm, 30 kg dual; base price $30,000 (company); about 80% of core parts in-house.
Lineage
Every Kepler Exploration Robotics humanoid in order.
Watch Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee'
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- $30,000Base model reported at $30,000; distributors list about CNY 248,000.
- How to get one
- Maker's website
- Built
- Small-batch mass production started 4 Aug 2025 with about 100 units expected in 2025 (Shanghai Pudong government).
- Sold or delivered
- Several thousand indicative orders worth hundreds of millions of yuan (company); no delivery count.
- Where it is sold or used
- China
- Customers and pilots
- Several car makers (logistics trials) and five universities (Pudong government, Aug 2025); about 50 target customers co-developed K2 (2024).
Where it works
2 reported deployments.
- Ordered
Several Chinese car makers (unnamed) · since 2025
Unnamed Chinese car makers placed trial orders for K2 to move materials after tests reached 80% of manual efficiency. About 100 K2s expected to be built in 2025 Shanghai Pudong government
- Pilot
SAIC-GM · SAIC-GM automotive plant · Shanghai · since 2025-04
Kepler K2 robots began real-world testing at a SAIC-GM car plant, doing quality checks, moving heavy parts and loading stamped parts. Interesting Engineering
News
The latest 3, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- K2 enters small-batch production
Some car-maker testers reported 80% of manual handling efficiency and placed trial orders.
Shanghai Pudong Government - Kepler shows K2 Bumblebee at ICRA 2025 for $30,000
Fifth-generation robot in limited-series production with 80% in-house core hardware.
The Robot Report - Kepler unveils Forerunner K2
Gen 5.0 robot with tendon-driven tactile hands and a 2.33 kWh battery.
Interesting Engineering
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every humanoid: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose
| Measure | Forerunner K2 'Bumblebee'Kepler Exploration Robotics |  Figure 03Figure AISame jobs: logistics, industrial · Both walk · Both on sale or in pilots · Similar size | No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useSuyuanShanghai ElectricSame jobs: industrial, logistics · Both walk · Both on sale or in pilots · Similar size |  Digit (2023 commercial version)Agility RoboticsSame jobs: logistics, industrial · Both walk · Both on sale or in pilots · Similar size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2024-10 | 2025-10-09 | 2025-07-26 | 2023-03 |
| Status | Pilot use | Commercial | Pilot use | Commercial |
| Height | 175 cm | 173 cm | 167 cm | 175 cm |
| Weight | 75 kg | 61 kg | 50 kg | 65 kg |
| Joints | 52 | 60 | 38 | — |
| Speed | — | 4.3 km/h | 5 km/h | — |
| Payload | 15 kg | 20 kg | 10 kg | 16 kg |
| Battery | 8 h | 5 h | — | 4 h |
| Price | $30,000 | — | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use