Chinese startup Noetix launched Bumi, a bipedal robot that challenges mobile robots at a much heftier price. Is this just a whim or a breakthrough that could make robots a viable tool for even small construction companies?

The Noetix Bumi robot is a humanoid robot designed primarily for educational and family use. It stands 94 cm (about 3 feet) tall, weighs 12 kg (26 pounds), and can run for 1 to 2 hours per charge.

Bumi walks on two legs with stable steps and performs flexible, complex movements, including dancing, enabled by proprietary motion-control algorithms that combine imitation and reinforcement learning.

Bumi has a front-facing camera that detects objects and faces, and it is also equipped with microphones for capturing spoken words, which it can process into actions such as following commands.