Just when you thought the humanoid robot party couldn’t get more crowded, another contender has swaggered through the door. Humanoid AI, a UK-based startup, has taken the wraps off its bipedal HMND 01 Alpha, marking its official entry into the two-legged race. This comes after the company previously showed off a wheeled version, giving it a flexible dual-platform strategy for tackling the industrial automation market. The company claims it developed the robot in just seven months, a remarkably fast turnaround in a field where development cycles are often measured in years.
According to the initial specs, the HMND 01 Alpha stands 1.79 meters tall and features 29 degrees of freedom, not including its hands. It’s built to be useful, boasting a 15kg dual-handed payload capacity and the option for either 12-DOF dexterous hands or simpler grippers. The whole system is powered by a VLA-based autonomous frame—that’s Vision-Language-Action for those not up on their AI acronyms—and has a stated operating time of three hours. Humanoid AI is targeting logistics, warehouses, and retail facilities where the robot can handle repetitive tasks like picking, sorting, and machine feeding.
Why is this important?
In a field now dominated by high-profile players like Tesla’s Optimus, Figure AI’s 02, and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, any new entry needs a serious unique selling proposition. Humanoid AI’s pragmatic approach—offering both wheeled and bipedal platforms—could be its key advantage, allowing customers to choose the right mobility for their specific environment. While its 15kg payload is competitive, the 3-hour runtime is on the lower end compared to the 4-8 hours offered by rivals like Apptronik’s Apollo and Figure 02. Still, with a claimed record development speed and a clear focus on the unglamorous but vital logistics sector, this British-built bot is one to watch. The humanoid race isn’t just about flashy demos anymore; it’s about who can ship a working, profitable machine first.
