Kepler Exploration Robot 上海开普勒探索机器人有限公司
"General-Purpose Humanoid Robot"
Chinese humanoid robot company developing general-purpose Forerunner series robots with 52 DOF for industrial and commercial applications.
Kepler Exploration Robot Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Kepler Robotics Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese humanoid robot company headquartered in Pudong, Shanghai, China, operating through its website gotokepler.com. Founded in 2023 by CEO Hu Debo, the company focuses on researching, developing, and manufacturing general-purpose humanoid robots aimed at addressing the global labor shortage challenge across manufacturing, healthcare, and other sectors.
The company's flagship product line is the Forerunner series, which encompasses multiple humanoid robot models including the K1, K2, S1, and D1. All Forerunner robots stand 178 cm tall and weigh approximately 85 kg, featuring up to 52 degrees of freedom distributed across the full body, with 11-DOF smart hands for precise dexterous manipulation tasks.
The Forerunner K1, unveiled in November 2023, features a 25 kg payload capacity and up to 8-hour battery life, making it suitable for sustained industrial deployment. The Forerunner K2, launched at GITEX GLOBAL 2024, introduces enhanced sensory perception and hand-eye coordination capabilities, with the ability to carry approximately 15 kg (33 lbs) in each dexterous hand simultaneously.
The robots integrate advanced sensor suites including 3D vision sensors, fisheye cameras, inertial measurement units (IMU), and torque, force, and position sensors throughout their kinematic chain. The onboard intelligence stack leverages deep learning, reinforcement learning, and multi-modal Large Language Model technologies to enable embodied intelligence, allowing the robots to perceive, reason about, and interact with complex real-world environments.
Kepler's humanoid robots are designed for deployment across diverse sectors: 3C electronics manufacturing, auto parts assembly, food and consumer goods packaging, medical health, and education and research. The company has raised approximately $14.6 million in Series A funding from SAIF Partners and is actively scaling commercial deployment of its Forerunner robots in industrial environments across China and globally.
Kepler's participation in major international exhibitions such as GITEX GLOBAL demonstrates the company's ambition to establish itself as a global humanoid robotics brand. As humanoid robots move from research demonstrations toward commercial deployment in factories and service environments, Kepler is among the Chinese companies at the forefront of this transition, competing in a rapidly growing ecosystem that includes both domestic Chinese competitors and international humanoid robot developers.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Forerunner K1
- Model: Forerunner K1
- Launch Year: 2023
General-purpose humanoid robot, 178 cm, 85 kg, 52 DOF with 11-DOF smart hands and 25 kg payload capacity.
Forerunner K2
- Model: Forerunner K2
- Launch Year: 2024
Enhanced humanoid robot with improved hand-eye coordination and 33 lb per-hand payload for industrial deployment.
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Contact Kepler Exploration Robot
WEBSITE
https://www.gotokepler.com/HEADQUARTERS
China
Company Facts
Founded
2023
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Asia-Pacific
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
