On August 18, Agibot officially unveiled its latest lineup of humanoid robots, marking a significant milestone for the company. After a year of anticipation, five new models were introduced: Expedition A2, Expedition A2-W, Expedition A2-Max, Lingxi X1, and Lingxi X1-W.
Agibot, founded by Zhi Huijun—a former prodigy at Huawei and now a popular figure on Bilibili with 2.5 million followers—has quickly become a leading name in the robotics industry. Since its inception in February 2023, the company has attracted substantial investment, securing six rounds of financing from notable backers like HongShan, Baidu, and SAIC Motor. These investments have driven Agibot’s valuation to over RMB 7 billion (USD 960 million).
With these new releases, Agibot aims to redefine the capabilities of humanoid robots. The Expedition series, initially conceived as a bipedal robot, now includes wheeled and heavy-load versions, broadening its application scope significantly.
Central to the innovation in the Expedition A2 model are advancements in four key areas: power, perception, communication, and control.
In terms of power, Agibot has optimized its PowerFlow joint modules, enhancing both reliability and stability. The robot’s dexterous hand now boasts 19 degrees of freedom (DOF), up from the previous 11, enabling it to perform more intricate and precise tasks. A video demonstration during the press event highlighted this capability, showing the hand executing everyday tasks such as unpacking deliveries and pouring water, as well as delicate operations like threading a needle—showcasing the robot’s heightened precision.
Agibot has also improved the robot’s perception abilities by incorporating multimodal sensing with microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology, significantly boosting the tactile sensitivity of the robot’s hand.
On the control side, the Expedition A2-W is outfitted with two high-precision, force-controlled dual arms, each with 7 DOF, achieving industrial-grade accuracy in repetitive tasks.
For communication, Agibot introduced AimRT, a lightweight and high-performance communication framework designed specifically for intelligent robots. This in-house development surpasses third-party middleware like ROS in terms of performance, stability, and deployment efficiency, while maintaining compatibility with existing ROS and ROS 2 systems.
During the event, Zhi emphasized that Agibot has been focusing on progressive innovation over the past year, refining core components, and restructuring system solutions based on the Expedition A1 prototype. These efforts have paved the way for the robots’ mass production, setting the stage for commercial deployment.
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However, Zhi pointed out that optimizing the robot’s physical design is just the beginning. The true intelligence of a humanoid robot resides in its “brain,” which requires not only advanced computing and control capabilities but also the ability to continuously learn and adapt, enabling autonomous improvement in real-world applications.
“Humanoid robots are extraordinarily complex systems, and their manufacturing challenges span nearly the entire spectrum of the industry,” Zhi noted during the press conference.
Over the past year, Agibot has worked tirelessly to refine its integration of hardware and software, supply chain management, manufacturing processes, and production workflows. These efforts have transitioned the Expedition series from prototype to mass production, a significant milestone in the commercialization of humanoid robots.
Zhi also announced that Agibot’s X-Lab will soon open-source most of the design materials for the Lingxi X1 robot, including comprehensive design blueprints (excluding critical components), software frameworks, middleware, and motion control source codes.
Additionally, Agibot plans to release the industry’s first embodied dataset in the fourth quarter. This dataset will include one million real-world data points and tens of millions of simulated data points, aiming to support further innovation and development in the embodied intelligence industry.
As the event concluded, Zhi underscored that the true value of technology lies in its ability to impact human life profoundly. Agibot’s mission, he explained, goes beyond mere technological advancement: the company seeks to accelerate industry innovation through an open ecosystem and collaborative efforts, ultimately integrating robots into everyday life.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Annabella Chang for 36Kr.