Korea Institute of Science and Technology · research humanoid
KAPEX
Korea's flagship 'K-humanoid', built by KIST with LG, which runs LG's EXAONE AI model and mostly Korean-made actuators. It is about 170 cm and 60 kg, can carry 20 kg and is meant first as a household helper (cleaning, tidying, laundry), with hospital trials planned.
- Price
- —Not published
- Height
- 170 cmTaller than 59%
- Weight
- 60 kgHeavier than 47%
- Payload
- 20 kgCarries more than 72%
- Speed
- —Not published
- Battery
- —Not published
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Why it matters
A research humanoid from Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) with LG Electronics and LG AI Research.
Real-world use
None; household help first, with industrial demonstration and commercial deployment targeted within about four years.
Timeline
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
Korea Institute of Science and TechnologyGovernment lab · founded 1966 · Seoul, South KoreaGovernment-funded public research institute
How it stacks up
Against other humanoids that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
KAPEX is taller than 59% of the 305 other humanoids that publish a height. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
KAPEX is heavier than 47% of the 277 other humanoids that publish a weight. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
KAPEX carries more than 72% of the 132 other humanoids that publish a payload. Bars show the 7 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: speed, joints, battery, price.
What it has been shown doing
We checked public videos and press for KAPEX and found no clear demo of the skills we track yet.
Public attention
How much public attention KAPEX gets, from open data.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- 2 news stories from reputable press listed on this page
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
- Actuators & motors
- High-output whole-body actuators developed in-house to raise Korea's technological self-reliance.
- Hands
- Multi-fingered hand with fine tactile sensing; can carry 20 kg.
- Sensors & vision
- Tactile sensing in the hands plus environment perception (no full list published).
- AI & software
- Reinforcement learning and vision-language-model learning, with LG AI Research's EXAONE (vision-language) model as the robot's 'brain'; navigates to targets on its own.
- Other details
- About 170 cm and 60 kg, built closer to adult human proportions. Name: K for Korea plus APEX. KIST leads core technology, LG Electronics handles productisation and mass production, LG AI Research supplies the AI.
Lineage
Every Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) with LG Electronics and LG AI Research humanoid in order.
Watch KAPEX
Made, sold and where
Unit counts are usually company figures; analysts often disagree.
- Price
- Not published
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
- Built
- Research prototype; field demonstrations began in late 2025.
- Sold or delivered
- Not sold.
- Where it is sold or used
- South Korea (KIST, Seoul)
- Customers and pilots
- None; household help first, with industrial demonstration and commercial deployment targeted within about four years.
News
The latest 2, newest first. Summaries are ours; tap through for the original.
- KIST and LG unveil KAPEX
Korea's 'K-humanoid', running LG's EXAONE model, was shown publicly at KIST at 170 cm and 60 kg.
Hankyung - KIST, LG and LG AI Research announce KAPEX
The partners set out roles and a four-year path to industrial pilots and commercial deployment.
Hello T
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