China unveils ‘world’s first' high-performance humanoid under $1,400

China-based startup Noetix Robotics has introduced Bumi, a compact humanoid robot priced at approximately $1,370 (¥9,998), marking it as the world’s cheapest consumer-grade humanoid robot. Standing 3.1 feet (94 cm) tall and weighing 26.5 pounds (12 kg), Bumi is designed primarily for educational and home use rather than competing with larger, high-performance humanoids. Despite its small size and affordability, Bumi demonstrates impressive capabilities such as walking, balancing, and dancing with stability and fluidity, supported by lightweight composite materials, an in-house motion control system, and a modular design. It runs on a 48V battery offering 1-2 hours of operation and supports drag-and-drop graphical programming and voice interaction, making it suitable as both a learning companion and personal assistant. Noetix Robotics, founded in 2023 by a team from Tsinghua and Zhejiang Universities, has rapidly transitioned from research-focused robots to mass-market