{"id":"96ab08d5-2d7d-4a9f-8f7e-e9ec4e2e7700","companyId":"63df6632-c8a1-4a49-ba31-5c46755c1e23","modelName":"K2 Bumblebee","slug":"kepler-k2","description":"Kepler Robotics (legally Shanghai Kepler Exploration Robot; founded 2023 in Pudong, Shanghai; CEO Hu Debo) makes the K2 Bumblebee, a fifth-generation full-size industrial humanoid notable for its proprietary planetary roller-screw linear actuators and a straight-knee hybrid gait. Verified specs include 175 cm, 75 kg, 52 degrees of freedom, 80-plus sensors, 100 TOPS of onboard compute, about 15 kg of payload per arm, and roughly eight hours of runtime, at a list price of RMB 248,000 (about $34,000). It was shown independently at ICRA 2025, and units entered real-world testing at an SAIC-GM auto plant in Shanghai for quality checks and material-bin transport, corroborated across multiple outlets; the company is now reportedly controlled by the A-share-listed Tao Motor via acquisition. The registry records it at pilot maturity rather than commercial: Kepler's own 'world's first commercially available' and 'mass production' framing names zero end customers and quantifies demand only as framework agreements for several thousand units, which is a claim rather than booked orders. The strongest verifiable signal is the SAIC-GM plant testing, not a commercial supply contract, so volume shipments, the unnamed framework agreements, and a secondary-blog wheel-hub deployment are recorded as claimed-but-not-verified.","formFactor":"humanoid","maturityStage":"pilot","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"notes":[{"label":"Verified","value":"Kepler Robotics (Shanghai Kepler Exploration Robot; founded 2023, Pudong Shanghai; CEO Hu Debo) makes the K2 'Bumblebee', a Gen-5 full-size industrial humanoid using proprietary planetary roller-screw linear actuators. Independently shown at ICRA 2025. Units entered real-world TESTING at an SAIC-GM auto plant in Shanghai (quality checks, material-bin transport), corroborated by multiple outlets. Now reportedly controlled by A-share company Tao Motor (M&A)."},{"label":"Maturity = pilot (verified-vs-claimed)","value":"Kepler's own 'world's first commercially available / mass production' framing names ZERO end customers and quantifies demand only as 'framework agreements for several thousand units' - a claim, not orders. The strongest verifiable signal is plant TESTING at SAIC-GM, not a commercial supply contract. maturityStage=pilot."},{"label":"Claimed but NOT verified","value":"'Mass production' volume shipments; 'several thousand units' / 'hundreds of millions of yuan' framework agreements (no named counterparties); a secondary-blog HZF wheel-hub deployment (not in Kepler PR or tier-1 press); funding totals (trackers disagree, ~$14.6M cited, low confidence)."}],"specs":"K2 Bumblebee (Gen-5): 175 cm, 75 kg, 52 DoF, 80+ sensors, 100 TOPS onboard, 15 kg/arm payload, ~8 hr runtime, 11-DoF hands; list price RMB 248,000 (~$34k)","formFactor":"humanoid (full-size industrial bipedal humanoid; planetary roller-screw actuators, straight-knee gait)"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.therobotreport.com/kepler-robotics-showcases-k2-bumblebee-icra-2025/","title":"Kepler showcases K2 Bumblebee at ICRA 2025 (independent demo; Gen-5 specs)","sourceName":"The Robot Report"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/china-kepler-humanoid-robot-shanghai-plant","title":"Kepler K2 in real-world testing at an SAIC-GM auto plant in Shanghai","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering"},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/worlds-first-commercially-available-hybrid-architecture-humanoid-robot-moves-into-mass-production-kepler-marks-the-start-of-a-new-industrial-era-302568138.html","title":"Kepler announces K2 'mass production' at RMB 248,000 (Sept 2025; company claim)","sourceName":"Kepler (PR Newswire)"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/kepler-debuts-k2-humanoid-robot","title":"Kepler debuts K2 humanoid robot (Gen-5 lineage K1 -> K2)","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering"},{"url":"https://www.gasgoo.com/news/70036000.html","title":"A-share company (Tao Motor) takes control of Kepler (humanoid-robot M&A)","sourceName":"Gasgoo"}],"aliases":["Kepler K2","Forerunner K2","K2 Bumblebee"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-03T19:23:07.303Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-03T19:23:07.303Z","jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Product","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/kepler-k2","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/kepler-k2","name":"K2 Bumblebee","alternateName":["Kepler K2","Forerunner K2","K2 Bumblebee"],"description":"Kepler Robotics (legally Shanghai Kepler Exploration Robot; founded 2023 in Pudong, Shanghai; CEO Hu Debo) makes the K2 Bumblebee, a fifth-generation full-size industrial humanoid notable for its proprietary planetary roller-screw linear actuators and a straight-knee hybrid gait. Verified specs include 175 cm, 75 kg, 52 degrees of freedom, 80-plus sensors, 100 TOPS of onboard compute, about 15 kg of payload per arm, and roughly eight hours of runtime, at a list price of RMB 248,000 (about $34,000). It was shown independently at ICRA 2025, and units entered real-world testing at an SAIC-GM auto plant in Shanghai for quality checks and material-bin transport, corroborated across multiple outlets; the company is now reportedly controlled by the A-share-listed Tao Motor via acquisition. The registry records it at pilot maturity rather than commercial: Kepler's own 'world's first commercially available' and 'mass production' framing names zero end customers and quantifies demand only as framework agreements for several thousand units, which is a claim rather than booked orders. The strongest verifiable signal is the SAIC-GM plant testing, not a commercial supply contract, so volume shipments, the unnamed framework agreements, and a secondary-blog wheel-hub deployment are recorded as claimed-but-not-verified.","identifier":"96ab08d5-2d7d-4a9f-8f7e-e9ec4e2e7700","category":"humanoid","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}}}