Customer facilities (materials handling, inspection, QC) — evaluation
unknown · unverified
- No deployment-specific evidence recorded.
🇨🇳 Kepler Forerunner K2
Kepler Robotics · China · unveiled 2024
commercial
supervised-autonomy
electric
data confidence: medium
Watch changes · Evidence history · Cited research export · Plan a pilot
Score breakdown
Autonomy & Intelligence · 25%70.0
Manipulation & Dexterity · 20%60.5
Mobility & Locomotion · 15%72.5
Hardware & Engineering · 15%76.3
Commercial Readiness & Deployment · 15%99.0
Ecosystem & Viability · 10%0.0
Each pillar is scored 0–100 from published specs, then weighted into the HMX. Compare it only with other humanoid robots — each category uses its own reference scales. See the full methodology →
Notable
Fifth-gen Kepler humanoid with 15 kg per-hand payload, tactile fingertips and a 2.33 kWh battery for ~8 h runtime; targeted at roughly $20k-$30k as a low-cost industrial humanoid.
Deployment evidence
Legacy mentions are unverified. A partnership or announcement is not proof of an active deployment. Evidence labels do not change HMX v2 scoring.
Specifications
Evidence is attached to each value. Robot-wide source links do not verify every field. A source about an older value cannot support the current specification.
Height
178.0 cm
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Weight
85.0 kg
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Payload
15.0 kg
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Travel speed
Undisclosed
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Runtime
8.0 h
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Battery
2.33 kWh
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Total DoF
52 DoF
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Hand DoF per hand
11 DoF
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Dexterous hands
Yes
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Actuation
electric
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Form factor
bipedal
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Onboard compute
Undisclosed
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
AI model
Cloud cognitive model + embodied control (imitation + RL)
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Autonomy
supervised-autonomy
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Product status
commercial
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Indicative price
25000.0 USD
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Funding
Undisclosed
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Company valuation
Undisclosed
unverified · 0 evidence records
Declared shared origins are grouped. Distinct domains and unclassified origins do not establish independent evidence.
No field-specific evidence recorded. This value is unverified at field level.
Kepler Forerunner K2 in context: rank, rivals and specs
Compare with Tesla Optimus (Gen 2/3) →Forerunner K2 is a humanoid robot from Kepler in China, and it is commercially available. It scores 66.8 on the Humanoid Metric, ranking 24th of 156 — in the top quarter.
On the leaderboard it sits between Tesla Optimus (Gen 2/3) (HMX 66.9) and Galbot S1 (HMX 65.9).
It is at or above the category median on every machine pillar, most of all mobility & locomotion: 72.5 against a median of 34.8.
By the published specifications, it runs longer per charge than 85% of the 68 other humanoid robots publishing a runtime (8 h), is taller than 82% of the 123 other humanoid robots publishing a height (178 cm) and is heavier than 82% of the 115 other humanoid robots publishing a weight (85 kg).
Its published price of $25,000 is below 55% of the 55 other humanoid robots with a public price.
On autonomy, it has demonstrated autonomy under human supervision, not unsupervised work. 1 deployment claim is on record, none yet backed by a customer, the press or the vendor.
Its specifications carry a medium-confidence grade from 3 cited sources, as of 2026-06.
Task evidence
Task capability is not inferred from hardware specifications or general autonomy labels. Find robots for a task →
No task-specific evidence recorded. Capability remains unknown.
Sources · robot-level references, as of 2026-06
- https://newatlas.com/ai-humanoids/kepler-forerunner-k2-humanoid-robot/
- https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/forerunner-k2-keplers-next-gen-humanoid-robot
- https://humanoid.guide/product/kepler-k2/
Machine-readable: HIS Layer 0 manifest · what's this?
Frequently asked questions about the Kepler Forerunner K2
How much does the Kepler Forerunner K2 cost?
The Kepler Forerunner K2 has a published price of $25,000.
What are the Kepler Forerunner K2's specs?
Published specifications: payload 15 kg, runtime 8 h, degrees of freedom 52, degrees of freedom per hand 11, height 178 cm, weight 85 kg. Not published: speed.
Is the Kepler Forerunner K2 autonomous?
The Kepler Forerunner K2 has demonstrated autonomy under human supervision, not unsupervised work. The grade reflects demonstrations, not marketing claims.
How does the Kepler Forerunner K2 compare to the Tesla Optimus (Gen 2/3)?
On the HMX, the Kepler Forerunner K2 scores 66.8 and the Tesla Optimus (Gen 2/3) 66.9. The Kepler Forerunner K2 leads on mobility & locomotion and commercial readiness & deployment; the Tesla Optimus (Gen 2/3) leads on autonomy & intelligence, manipulation & dexterity, hardware & engineering and ecosystem & viability.
Who makes the Kepler Forerunner K2?
The Kepler Forerunner K2 is made by Kepler, in China.
Embed this score
Change history · 1 applied update
-
Spec update Update Forerunner K2
status: pilot → commercial2026-08-23T01:04:51+00:00 · by agent-bulk
Data confidence: medium. Some figures for this robot rest on single or conflicting sources, or on manufacturer/aggregator material rather than independent reporting. Treat second-order specs as approximate. Fields marked “—” were genuinely undisclosed and left blank rather than estimated.