Tsinghua Embodied AI Team Unveils 55-DOF Humanoid Robot Following RMB 500 Million Funding

On July 22, Beijing RobotEra Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "RobotEra") released the full-size bipedal humanoid robot L7 and began sales; currently, interested parties need to contact the official channels for purchase.

L7 is currently the first domestic full-size bipedal humanoid robot driven by the VLA model ERA-42, featuring 55 high-degree-of-freedom joints across its entire body.

In terms of basic parameters, L7 stands at 171 cm tall, equipped with the XHAND 1 fully direct-drive, 12-DOF five-finger dexterous hand, and self-developed joint modules (with a torque of 400 N·m and a peak speed of 25 rad/s). It lists a two-arm payload capacity of 20 kg, with an arm span diameter of 2.1 meters.

L7 possesses strong motion capabilities: it features 2 DOFs in the neck, 7 DOFs per arm, 3 DOFs in the waist, 12 DOFs in the hands (capable of performing 10 clicks per second), and 6 DOFs per leg, achieving a record-breaking running speed of 4 m/s. At the wrists, L7 adopts a ten-axis wrist design that supports lateral swinging of ±45° and forward/backward movement of ±90°, breaking the limitation of fixed operational angles.

In terms of perception, L7 is equipped with binocular cameras, 3D LiDAR, microphone arrays, and speakers, enabling 360° comprehensive perception and adaptability to complex environments.

Regarding computing power, L7 delivers 80 TOPS (X86) + 275 TOPS (Orin). For battery life, L7 is fitted with a 60 V 15 Ah battery.

Additionally, the L7 adopts a quasi-direct-drive joint solution, combined with a fully self-developed modular skeleton, to resolve the contradiction between "strength and flexibility": The quasi-direct drive eliminates traditional reducers, reducing power loss, resulting in a more compact structure and higher force feedback accuracy. It can sense impact forces in real time and adjust output accordingly. According to the introduction, its core skeleton is made of aviation-grade aluminum alloy and carbon fiber composite materials, capable of withstanding instantaneous burst pressure while keeping the weight at 65 kg to avoid offsetting its power advantages.

The L7 can perform tasks such as intelligent sorting, scanning, handling, and assembly in work scenarios; it can perform high-burst-force actions such as street dancing, bartending, and 360-degree rotating jumps in commercial service scenarios; and it can conduct remote full-body teleoperation and data collection in scientific research scenarios. Furthermore, the L7 introduces the world's first "full-size + upper-body" switching solution, allowing users to choose between "full-body mode" or "upper-body mode" based on scenario needs, making its application scenarios extensive.

As the only embodied AI enterprise held by Tsinghua University, RobotEra was founded in August 2023. Its founder, Chen Jianyu, is a doctoral supervisor and assistant professor at Tsinghua University. Chen holds a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and studied under Professor Masayoshi Tomizuka, an academician of the US National Academy of Engineering, a pioneer in electromechanical control, and the founder of MPC algorithms. Team members come from prestigious domestic and international institutions such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, and the National University of Singapore, as well as Fortune 500 companies. Currently, over 80% of the team consists of R&D personnel.

Before the L7, RobotEra had already launched the full-size humanoid robot STAR1, the wheeled chassis robot Q5, and the five-finger dexterous hand product XHAND 1. On the model end, it launched the VLA model ERA-42, unifying functions such as vision, understanding, prediction, and action into a single end-to-end model.

It is reported that RobotEra has delivered over 200 products this year, with another hundred orders currently in mass production delivery. More than 50% of these orders come from overseas customers, quickly leading the way in the global expansion of embodied AI technology. Additionally, the company is rapidly advancing implementation in high-value scenarios such as industrial logistics and chain retail, gathering clients from various industries including Haier Smart Home, Lenovo, and Beijing Automation Science & Technology.

Notably, RobotEra just completed its Series A financing in early July, raising nearly 500 million yuan.