Humanoid Robotics Technology
LUMOS Robotics has announced that it will provide 100 free NIX humanoid robots to selected universities, robotics labs, developers, and creative technologists worldwide, arguing that the single biggest obstacle in embodied AI today is not hardware performance but access to it. The initiative, called Project EDGE, LUMOS NIX 100 Builders Program, makes LUMOS the first known Chinese humanoid robotics startup to launch a co-creation program of this scale.
Each selected partner will receive a complimentary NIX humanoid robot, full access to the company’s open software development kit, and direct technical support from LUMOS engineers. There is no upfront payment, equity requirement, or licensing fee.
The only expectation is that builders will use the platform to push forward experimentation in human-robot interaction, motion generation, and real-world embodied AI applications.
Why 100 free robots? LUMOS believes the biggest bottleneck in embodied AI today is not hardware, it’s access. Most researchers and developers cannot afford a $50,000-$100,000 humanoid platform. By removing the cost barrier, LUMOS aims to accelerate experimentation in human-robot interaction, motion generation, and real-world embodied AI applications.
The company views the co-creation initiative as a way to move humanoid robotics beyond entertainment demos and into broader real-world applications, powered by a global community of builders rather than a single internal team.
“Through the Project EDGE program we have launched, we will provide 100 units of NIX to selected builders, universities and robotics labs worldwide,” said Yu Chao, founder and CEO of LUMOS Robotics. “Selected teams will not only receive a free LUMOS NIX robot, but also open SDK access and technical support. We look forward to exploring the future of humanoid robotics together. We believe that by removing the cost barrier, we can unlock the kind of experimentation that the field has been missing.”
The announcement comes as LUMOS unveils an upgraded version of its compact humanoid robot NIX, featuring significantly more dynamic motion capabilities, enhanced whole-body coordination, and improved performance in high-speed dance routines, flips, and other complex movements.
In a recently released demonstration video, NIX performs agile footwork, rapid dance sequences, backflips, side handsprings, one-arm handstands, and windmills, showcasing the company’s latest advances in embodied AI, dynamic motion control, and human-robot interaction.
Behind NIX’s acrobatic capabilities is a motion control system trained through a combination of motion capture, simulation, and reinforcement learning. Rather than simply replaying prerecorded human movements, the robot learns to adapt actions to its own physical structure and mechanical constraints. LUMOS trains the system using reference trajectories derived from animation data, simulation optimization, and manually designed actions, allowing the robot to execute movements while maintaining balance, smoothness, and energy efficiency.
Training involves large-scale parallel simulations that expose NIX to varying landing conditions, contact patterns, and disturbances before deployment in the real world. The robot continuously monitors joint states, body orientation, velocity, and ground contact in real time, enabling it to dynamically adjust when friction, posture, or external forces change unexpectedly.
The hardware powering these capabilities is the company’s proprietary LUMOS P-60 joint module, a compact integrated system combining motors, sensors, and control electronics. Each module weighs just 570 grams and measures 64 millimeters in diameter, yet delivers the torque and precision needed to support explosive whole-body movements while maintaining balance and control. It can reach rotational speeds of up to 160 RPM, enabling the kind of rapid rotational movement and aerial maneuvers seen in the company’s demonstration video.
Developers participating in Project EDGE will be encouraged to submit custom motion intents and movement fragments through standardized interfaces. The platform then conducts simulation verification, dynamics validation, and safety screening before converting those inputs into robot-executable actions, creating a broader framework for humanoid motion development. Selected teams will not only receive a free robot but will also gain the ability to push their own motion concepts directly onto a production-grade humanoid platform.
The program has already attracted attention from global robotics leaders. In January 2025, Figure AI founder and CEO Brett Adcock publicly highlighted the company’s progress after LUMOS demonstrated the fall-recovery capabilities of its earlier LUS1 humanoid robot. “Chinese startup LUMOS Robotics shared progress on LUS1 humanoid, which can now face hurdles, fall and stand back up again. The startup is just 4 months old,” Adcock wrote on social media.
He later added, “China’s LUMOS Robotics released a clip showing the fall recovery capability of its LUS1 humanoid. In the video, the robot, which is being designed for adaptability in unstructured environments, can be seen getting back on its feet in one second.” With NIX, LUMOS has extended those capabilities beyond mobility and recovery into high-dynamic human-robot interaction scenarios.
The core research and development team at LUMOS Robotics includes researchers and engineers from Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the State University of New York, and Shanghai AI Laboratory. Team members bring more than a decade of average experience in embodied AI development and large-scale consumer technology deployment.
Interested developers, researchers, and robotics teams can apply to join the Project EDGE Builders Program at https://www.lumosbot.tech/project-edge/index.html.
Source: LUMOS Robotics
