Shanghai Kepler Robot presented its humanoid robot K2 “Bumblebee” at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 2025, held in Hangzhou. The event, which attracted more than 7,000 participants from academia and industry, featured global robotics research and technology demonstrations under the theme “Human-Robotics Frontier.”
At its exhibition booth, Kepler Robotics demonstrated the K2 “Bumblebee,” a humanoid robot capable of walking with a straight-knee gait and responding to human gestures. The company stated that the robot’s motion system is based on a hybrid actuation architecture integrating roller screw linear and rotary actuators. This configuration, supported by a proprietary planetary roller screw actuator, is designed to provide torque density, precision, and durability for humanoid movement.
According to Kepler Robotics, the K2 “Bumblebee” incorporates reinforcement learning and GPU-accelerated simulation to address the challenge of transferring behavior from simulation to real-world operation. The company uses physics-based simulators such as Isaac Gym and MuJoCo to train locomotion models and optimize motion control for efficiency and balance.
Alongside the robot debut, Kepler Robotics announced an open developer platform aimed at supporting application development in humanoid robotics. The platform includes tools and modules for perception, navigation, voice interaction, and motor control. It offers access to the company’s microkernel-based Nebula OS, standardized hardware and software interfaces, and a simulation environment for testing and deployment. Developers can use visual and code-level programming tools within Kepler Studio to design motion sequences and tasks.
The company said the platform includes a multimodal interaction engine for integrating visual, auditory, and tactile input, and supports digital twin applications to enable testing in virtual environments. Kepler Robotics also plans to introduce a skill marketplace and expand collaborative development opportunities.
To encourage participation, Kepler Robotics launched the Lighthouse Program, an initiative designed to support developers and partners through technical resources, funding, and commercialization assistance.
