Shanghai Kepler Robotics has announced the completion of a gait upgrade for its humanoid robot K2 “Bumblebee,” presenting what it describes as China’s first demonstration of a hybrid-architecture, disturbance-resistant gait. In a video released with the announcement, the robot is shown walking across uneven terrain, including bricks, grass, and plastic surfaces, and maintaining stability when subjected to external force.
The company also introduced a demonstration of its VLA+ training platform, which enables the robot to interpret natural language commands and execute a range of tasks. According to Kepler Robotics, the dual upgrades in locomotion and cognition are intended to broaden the robot’s applicability in industrial and service environments.
K2 “Bumblebee” employs a hybrid configuration combining roller screw linear actuators with rotary actuators. This design allows for a straight-knee gait, which the company states improves energy efficiency, task execution, and adaptability. The roller screw linear actuators function as the primary walking mechanism, while rotary actuators provide fine-tuned adjustments. Kepler reports that the roller screw design achieves an energy conversion efficiency of 81.3 percent and offers higher load capacity and precision compared to ball screws.
The company noted that achieving stable gait control using this hybrid architecture required addressing challenges associated with transitioning from simulation to real-world performance. These include inconsistencies in terrain properties, sensor noise, and delays in actuator response. Kepler stated that it has applied reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and actuator torque control to enable dynamic gait switching and improve real-world adaptability.
In addition to locomotion, the robot is trained with both simulated and real-world datasets to enhance its perception and language comprehension. The VLA+ model supports semantic recognition, reasoning, and task planning, which the company said improves reliability in task execution.
Kepler Robotics positioned the gait upgrade as a step toward wider deployment of humanoid robots in commercial settings. Potential applications identified by the company include logistics, manufacturing, customer engagement, and education. The robot has a reported payload capacity of 30 kilograms, operates for up to eight hours on a one-hour charge, and incorporates hardware that is more than 80 percent developed in-house.
