Another humanoid robot debuts in China

A new humanoid robot unveiled by a Chinese firm JAKA Robotics is more retro in appearance than many of its industry peers.

The human-sized robot K-1 was showcased for the first time in public during the China International Industry Fair in Shanghai last week.

The robot was developed by JAKA Robotics, which said it designed it with both commercial and scientific applications in mind.

K-1 is equipped with dexterous hands and additionally has 20 movable joints across other parts of its body. The robot has “14 degrees of freedom in its arms, enhancing its flexibility and agility with a 7-axis humanoid configuration,” according to JAKA Robotics.

However, the live presentation on stage featured a non-functioning prototype, making it difficult to tell how far advanced the robot is.

An accompanying screen demonstration showed the robot moving its hands and arms, walking several steps, and bending down slightly.

The robot's anvil-shaped head and boxy appearance make it look like a retro toy robot.

This distinguishes K-1 from hyper-realistic human-like robots developed by other Chinese companies such as Ex-Robots, or sleek futuristic designs from American companies such as Figure and Elon Musk’s Tesla.

Some observers noted it looked similar to MenteeBot, developed by Israeli company Mentee Robotics and advertised as a household chore and warehouse robot that “you can mentor.”

JAKA Robotics was founded in 2014 and specializes in industrial collaborative robots, or “cobots.” The company is headquartered in Shanghai and has a production line in China’s Jiangsu province, with offices in Malaysia, Germany, and the United States.

The Chinese government seeks to achieve the mass production of humanoid robots in 2025, an ambitious goal shared by Tesla’s Musk, who said he envisions a “high production” of Optimus robots in 2026.