{"id":409301,"date":"2026-02-05T13:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/409301\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:00:11","slug":"the-worlds-first-biomimetic-ai-robot-just-strolled-in-from-the-uncanny-valley-and-yes-its-super-creepy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/409301\/","title":{"rendered":"The world&#8217;s first &#8216;biomimetic AI robot&#8217; just strolled in from the uncanny valley \u2014\u00a0and yes, it&#8217;s super-creepy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Chinese robotics startup has revealed a super-realistic humanoid robotDroidUp claims that Moya is the first &#8220;biomimetic AI robot&#8221;Moya is expected to launch in late 2026 for \u00a51.2 million (around $173,000 \/ \u00a3127,000 \/ AU$248,000)<\/p>\n<p id=\"572d1583-e431-4670-abc7-861c4cee74b9\">Disturbingly lifelike humanoid robots are becoming a big theme of 2026 \u2013 and a Shanghai startup has just revealed what might be the closest thing to an extra from <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/westworld-season-4-looks-like-its-finally-filming\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/westworld-season-4-looks-like-its-finally-filming\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/news\/westworld-season-4-looks-like-its-finally-filming\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Westworld<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, it&#8217;s still easy to tell that Moya is indeed a robot \u2013 the plasticky skin, dead eyes, and slightly jerky movements give that away. But a few interesting, or perhaps creepy, details mean it&#8217;s also a cut above your average cold-blooded companion.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"572d1583-e431-4670-abc7-861c4cee74b9-2\">Firstly, Moya&#8217;s skin is actually warm. &#8220;A robot that truly serves human life should be warm&#8230; almost like a living being that people can people can connect with,&#8221; claimed Li Qingdu, founder of Moya&#8217;s maker Droidup, in an interview with <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AuTbHjCepxs\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AuTbHjCepxs\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Shanghai Eye<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s up for debate, but the robot has a body temperature of between 32C and 36C (or 90F-97F), according to Droidup. According to the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/DUQQfNqCfT5\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/DUQQfNqCfT5\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">South China Morning Post<\/a>, this is because Droidup sees a future for Moya in healthcare, education, and commercial applications, as well as being a daily companion for humans.<\/p>\n<p>These lifelike elements extend to Moya&#8217;s walking style, which Droidup claims has an accuracy rate of 92%. Quite how that&#8217;s measured isn&#8217;t clear, and it seems generous when you <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/DUQQfNqCfT5\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/DUQQfNqCfT5\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">see Mora gingerly shuffling around<\/a> as if she&#8217;s just done a two-hour HIIT workout.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gi2FMSKwnQ9bN3A8jrx4N8.jpg\" alt=\"The face of a humanoid robot called Moya made by Droidup\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gi2FMSKwnQ9bN3A8jrx4N8.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gi2FMSKwnQ9bN3A8jrx4N8.jpg\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Droidup)<\/p>\n<p id=\"1d3464e3-1d5e-4e09-aa20-baa738719a47\">However, Moya&#8217;s &#8216;Walker 3&#8217; skeleton is the sequel to the one that won the bronze medal in the world&#8217;s first robot half-marathon, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/04\/19\/asia\/china-first-humanoid-robot-half-marathon-intl-hnk\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/04\/19\/asia\/china-first-humanoid-robot-half-marathon-intl-hnk\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">held<\/a><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/04\/19\/asia\/china-first-humanoid-robot-half-marathon-intl-hnk\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/04\/19\/asia\/china-first-humanoid-robot-half-marathon-intl-hnk\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> in Beijing in April 2025<\/a>. And there&#8217;s no doubt that this robot has some impressive skills besides human-like movement.<\/p>\n<p>Behind her eyes is a camera, which means she can interact with humans and respond with human-like &#8220;micro expressions&#8221;. There is naturally also AI on board, too, which is why Droidup is calling Moya the world\u2019s first &#8220;fully biomimetic embodied intelligent robot&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.<\/p>\n<p>That description is open to interpretation, but Mora is another impressive example of AI stepping out of the digital world and into our physical one, with increasingly convincing results.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-8cd5b4e8-f012-4818-b296-931dfe408aec\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/>Analysis: The robots are coming \u2013\u00a0but not into our homes<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Xpeng Motors, yesterday addressed the incident where the Chinese NEV maker&#8217;s humanoid robot Iron fell unexpectedly while standing during its first public offline debut at Mixc in Shenzhen Bay on Jan. 31, saying that it reminds him of how all\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/nDwKOrypTz<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cantworkitout\/status\/2018145424549511608\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cantworkitout\/status\/2018145424549511608\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">February 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"3acbeee9-e6ce-4df3-afe5-4d63de7d50f5\">Humanoid robots are now <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/get-ready-for-the-rise-of-the-robot-coworkers-new-report-claims-humanoid-robots-are-stepping-out-of-the-lab-and-into-the-real-world-to-take-the-jobs-we-dont-want\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/get-ready-for-the-rise-of-the-robot-coworkers-new-report-claims-humanoid-robots-are-stepping-out-of-the-lab-and-into-the-real-world-to-take-the-jobs-we-dont-want\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/get-ready-for-the-rise-of-the-robot-coworkers-new-report-claims-humanoid-robots-are-stepping-out-of-the-lab-and-into-the-real-world-to-take-the-jobs-we-dont-want\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">stepping out of labs and into the real world<\/a>, but they remain well beyond the reach of most consumers. Moya, for example, is expected to launch fully in late 2026 for \u00a51.2 million, or around $173,000 \/ \u00a3127,000 \/ AU$248,000.<\/p>\n<p>The title of &#8216;most creepily-realistic robot walk&#8217; still arguably goes to Xpeng&#8217;s IRON (above), which sashays around like a catwalk model in such a convincing way that many have suspected it&#8217;s a human cosplaying as a robot.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p>That myth was dispelled when the robot spectacularly fell on its face during its first public demo (see 0:20s in the video above), proving that fails have now become a rite of passage for the heirs to Honda&#8217;s legendary ASIMO. Or perhaps they&#8217;re just lulling us into a false sense of security.<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5hjBkXgWnKpzoxNPcmH6TJ.jpg\" alt=\"1X Neo Home Robot\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5hjBkXgWnKpzoxNPcmH6TJ.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5hjBkXgWnKpzoxNPcmH6TJ.jpg\" class=\"inline\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: Courtesy of 1X Technologies\/Eli Russell Linnetz)<\/p>\n<p id=\"6c9b77e1-175d-443f-8544-622b6f93f5e2\">Either way, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tech\/the-11-biggest-tech-trends-of-2026-according-to-ces-2026\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tech\/the-11-biggest-tech-trends-of-2026-according-to-ces-2026\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tech\/the-11-biggest-tech-trends-of-2026-according-to-ces-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CES 2026 showed us<\/a> that humanoid robots aren&#8217;t anywhere close to strolling around our homes, even if the 1X Neo (yours for just $20,000) briefly looked like <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/ai-platforms-assistants\/neo-robot-sounds-like-the-answer-to-our-home-chore-prayers-but-also-a-potential-privacy-nightmare\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/ai-platforms-assistants\/neo-robot-sounds-like-the-answer-to-our-home-chore-prayers-but-also-a-potential-privacy-nightmare\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/ai-platforms-assistants\/neo-robot-sounds-like-the-answer-to-our-home-chore-prayers-but-also-a-potential-privacy-nightmare\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the answer to our home chore prayers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The reality is that robots that are truly evolved for our homes don&#8217;t need to look like Moya, let alone have warm skin or 92% walking accuracy. Commenters on the South China Morning Post video about Moya said, &#8220;If she dares to take two steps towards my bed, I&#8217;m throwing her off the balcony,&#8221; and &#8220;It walks like a ghost, looks like a deterrent for burglars and keeps creepy neighbors at bay.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Instead, we&#8217;re most likely to meet humanoid robots in their early public service roles. UBTech Robotics recently <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/tech\/big-tech\/article\/3334081\/ubtech-wins-us37-million-deal-deploy-humanoid-robots-china-vietnam-border-crossings\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/tech\/big-tech\/article\/3334081\/ubtech-wins-us37-million-deal-deploy-humanoid-robots-china-vietnam-border-crossings\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">won a big contract<\/a> to post its humanoids at the China-Vietnam border crossing, where they&#8217;ll guide travelers and, more worryingly, conduct inspections.<\/p>\n<p>And Droidup says it similarly sees robots like Moya as being best-suited to &#8220;public service scenarios&#8221; at &#8220;train stations, banks, museums, and shopping malls, providing the public with convenient services such as consultation, route guidance, and information introduction.<\/p>\n<p>That might be worrying news for those who work in those places, but for now, our home robots are more likely to look like the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/home\/robot-vacuums\/best-robot-vacuum\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/home\/robot-vacuums\/best-robot-vacuum\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/home\/robot-vacuums\/best-robot-vacuum\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">best robot vacuums<\/a> than a humanoid with camera-powered eyes and warm skin.<\/p>\n<p id=\"a1371cd8-4aea-4d3d-8d9f-90de68b54507\"><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJsWTJoeVlXUmhjaTVqYjIwb0FBUAE?hl=en-GB&amp;gl=GB&amp;ceid=GB%3Aen\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJsWTJoeVlXUmhjaTVqYjIwb0FBUAE?hl=en-GB&amp;gl=GB&amp;ceid=GB%3Aen\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Follow TechRadar on Google News<\/a> and <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=techradar.com\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=techradar.com\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!<\/p>\n<p>And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@techradar\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@techradar\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">YouTube <\/a>and <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@techradar\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@techradar\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TikTok<\/a> for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Va6HybZ9RZAY7pIUK12h\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Va6HybZ9RZAY7pIUK12h\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WhatsApp<\/a> too.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Chinese robotics startup has revealed a super-realistic humanoid robotDroidUp claims that Moya is the first &#8220;biomimetic AI&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-409301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}