人形机器人应该更像人还是更不像人？

The humanoid robotics boom shows no signs of slowing down heading into the summer.

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Startups that didn’t exist a few years ago are mass-producing increasingly autonomous humanlike machines, as a wave of companies race toward IPOs to take their physical AI ambitions to the next level. Amid the frenzy, robotics firms are going to opposite extremes to stand out.

On one end, they’re stretching the definition of humanoid to its absolute limit, arguing that mimicking human behavior and aesthetics is unnecessary to unlock general-purpose robotics. Others area going all in on synthetic humans in hopes of finally pushing lifelike androids out of the uncanny valley. And then there are those in the middle trying to win over people with deliberate cuteness while their robots’ skills and intelligence rapidly catch up.

Genesis AI’s Eno

The French startup Genesis AI just introduced its first general-purpose humanoid robot, Eno, which features a uniquely non-humanlike design.

Its developers say they designed the humanoid for practical capabilities rather than making it look as much like a person as possible. Eno has a sleek and foldable structure, no face, and gets around via a wheeled base, similar to Memo from Sunday Robotics, the T1 from Astribot, and others.

Genesis AI’s Ena humanoid performs tasks in a lab in a marketing video (Source: Genesis AI)

“The first question we asked wasn’t what it should look like,” Daniel Hundt, Genesis AI’s head of design, said in the launch video. “It was what it needed to be.”

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One of its major standout features is its highly dexterous hands that have a reported 22 degrees of freedom (DoF) each. The number of moving joints puts the robotic hand in the upper echelon of five-fingered end effectors on the market today. It approaches the dexterity human hands, which typically have 27 DoF.

The hands are a customized version of the Chinese company Wuji Tech’s robot hands tailored for Genesis’ GENE AI foundational model. The robot brain is trained on data collected using high-tech gloves that capture motion, force, and tactile feedback from real human hands at work.

Genesis AI’s Ena humanoid robot does logistics work in a marketing video (Source: Genesis AI)

It’s combined with data from first-person demonstration videos and large-scale simulations. Genesis says the system helps the humanoid better understand both the physical world and how humans interact with it.

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The startup, launched in 2025 with around $105 million in seed funding, also announced it’s working with LG to evaluate, pilot, and scale deploy of Eno across industrial and logistics environments. According to Genesis, the partnership starts with testing at LG facilities in the US, with plans to expand to broader LG Group affiliates and global industrial customers.

Eno’s pricing is unknown for now, but Genesis has added a waitlist signup form to its website.

Enchanted Tools’ First Commercial Miroka

Meanwhile, another French company, Enchanted Tools, has launched the first commercial version of its flagship social robot, Miroka.

The foxlike humanoid has been a fixture at tech conferences for the last few years and comes with an anime-inspired backstory. It’s the brainchild of Jérôme Monceaux, who launched the Paris startup in 2021 after helping design two of the most iconic humanoids ever, Pepper and NAO.

The commercial version of Enchanted Tools’ Miroka humanoid robot (Source: Enchanted Tools)

Standing 123 cm (4 feet) and weighing 29 kg (62 lbs), Miroka gets around on a self-balancing ball-bot base. It has 26 DoF, an animated expressive face, and agile arms with hands that can carry up to 3 kg (6.6 lbs). Its battery supports about 4 hours of operation per charge.

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According to Enchanted Tools, Miroka’s AI combines several specialized systems, including multiple large language models (LLMs) for natural conversation and emotional intelligence, vision language models for perception, and dedicated navigation for motor control. The system runs onboard with dual NVIDIA Jetson NX computers.

The 5-year-old startup has priced Miroka starting around $30,000, plus upfront maintenance and subscription costs. It’s marketing the robot as a social companion and light-duty assistant at places like hospitals, nursing homes, retail stores, airports, and museums.

DroidUp Brings Moya Home

While companies like Genesis AI and Enchanted Tools insist humanoid robots don’t need to look human, the Shanghai startup DroidUp begs to differ.

The robotics first just shared a cinematic promo video showcasing what it calls the world’s most biomimetic companion robot, Moya. It shows the android, which stands 165 cm (5 feet 5 inches), providing companionship in an upper-middle-class home to family members of all ages.

DroidUp’s Moya humanoid robot comforts a woman in a marketing video (Source: DroidUp)

DroidUp says Moya, which weighs 32 kg (71 lbs), has silicone skin with internal heating, so it feels warm to the touch like a living person’s body. It has 25 DoF in its expressive face for micro expressions, cameras in its eyes for a humanlike gaze, and advanced sensors for thermal and facial tracking.

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Moya is one of the first commercial humanoids to feature both lifelike expressivity and bipedal locomotion. Combining humanlike facial movements and realistic walking is a challenge that roboticists have been trying to overcome for decades. Realistic facial movement demands delicate low-torque micro motors and fine-motor control, while full-body locomotion and balance require high-torque joints, fast reaction loops, and robust stabilization algorithms, facial animatronics drain system power, generate heat, and demand computing resources essential to keeping a moving robot from stumbling.

DroidUp’s Moya humanoid robot dances with a grandmother in a marketing video (Source: DroidUp)

Synchronizing the systems has become easier amid the global humanoid frenzy thanks to better lightweight motors, more accurate sensors, and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. DroidUp claims that Moya has achieved a walking gate that’s 92 percent humanlike at a pace of 3 km/h (1.9 mph).

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Its endoskeleton is an upgraded version of DroidUp’s industrial Walker humanoid. It uses a tendon-assisted actuation system, engineered to minimize limb inertia and improve energy efficiency. DroidUp says this means it can operate for about 6 hours per charge, about double the runtime offered by humanoids its size.

DroidUp’s Moya humanoid robot babysits a child in a marketing video (Source: DroidUp)

Moya’s architecture seems similar to 1X’s NEO humanoid for homes, which is also notable for its lightweight build. But the female-presenting robot is expected to be much pricier for early adopters than NEO, which is available for $500 a month or $20,000 outright.

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First-batch preorders of Moya are expected in late 2026, with a limited initial run of about 50 units. Its anticipated price is between $165,000 to more than $200,000.

LuvBotics’ RUMI

Also in China, the very early-stage Beijing startup LuvBotics has started taking reservations for its robot companion for homes, RUMI.

Like Moya, the compact biped has soft skin that’s warm to the touch, though it’s not going for the ultra-realistic look. It stands 65 cm (2 feet 2 inches) and has a reported 21 DoF for agile walking and body movements. The number of moving joints is just a few less than an entry Unitree G1.

LuvBotics’ Yumi humanoid robot does yoga in a marketing video (Source: LuvBotics)

RUMI, which weighs about 12 kg (26 lbs), has what LuvBotics calls an evolving personality thanks to its onboard AI. It has mood-reading sensors and delivers empathetic responses. According to LuvBotics, each unit has a uniquely generated voice and gradually unlocks new behaviors based on user interactions. The startup stresses that it keeps data private without constant cloud reliance.

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Its pricing starts around $1,000, which makes it one of the most affordable options yet in the emerging companion robot category.

The launch has generated buzz internationally, but skepticism is warranted. LuvBotics is still quite young and not very well backed, having been launched by Mu Shibo in Beijing in September 2025 with just $25,000 in registered capital. But things can also move fast in China, where startups that didn’t exist a few years ago are now preparing for IPOs with multi-billion-dollar valuations.

LuvBotics joins a crowding field of firms aiming to crack the consumer robotics market.

It’s a challenge that many have tried and failed at, including Shenzhen-based UBTECH Robotics, which marketed its Alpha 2 as the world’s first humanoid robot for families back in 2015. The release generated a lot of buzz at the time, but the product didn’t take off. It was basically a customized version of UBTECH’s small humanoid used for research and STEM priced around $500.

UBTECHhas since gone public and is one of the world’s leading humanoid companies. Its industrial robots have been deployed for giants like Foxconn, Airbus, and Texas Instruments. The company is now getting back into the consumer robotics market through its new sub-brand called UWorld. Its first products are ultra-realistic companions, and presale numbers already show there’s explosive demand. Read all about UBTECH’s plans to push lifelike humanoids out of the uncanny valley right here.