- Chinese robotics startup revealed super realistic humanoid robot
- DroidUp claims Moya is the first “biomimetic AI robot”
- Moya is expected to launch in late 2026 for 1.2 million yen (around $173,000 / £127,000 / AU$248,000)
Disturbingly realistic humanoid robots are becoming a major theme of 2026 – and a Shanghai startup just revealed what could be the closest thing to an extra of Western world.
Fortunately, it’s still easy to tell that Moya is indeed a robot: the plastic skin, dead eyes and slightly jerky movements prove it. But a few interesting, even frightening, details mean he’s also a cut above your average cold-blooded sidekick.
First, Moya’s skin is actually warm. “A robot that truly serves human life should be warm… almost like a living being that people can connect with,” said Li Qingdu, founder of Moya-based manufacturer Droidup, in an interview with Shanghai Eye.
It’s up for debate, but the robot has a body temperature between 32°C and 36°C (or 90°F-97°F), according to Droidup. According to the South China Morning Post, this is because Droidup sees a future for Moya in healthcare, education and business applications, as well as being a daily companion for humans.
These realistic elements extend to Moya’s walking style, which Droidup says has a 92% accuracy rate. It’s unclear how this is measured, and it seems generous when you see Mora moving gingerly like she just did a two-hour HIIT workout.
However, Moya’s “Walker 3” skeleton is the sequel to the one that won the bronze medal in the world’s first robot half marathon, held in Beijing in April 2025. And there is no doubt that this robot has impressive skills in addition to human-like movements.
Behind her eyes is a camera, meaning she can interact with humans and respond with human-like “micro-expressions.” There’s naturally AI on board too, which is why Droidup calls Moya the world’s first “fully biomimetic embodied intelligent robot.”
This description is open to interpretation, but Mora is another impressive example of AI moving out of the digital world and into our physical world, with increasingly compelling results.
Analysis: Robots are coming – but not in our homes
He Xiaopeng, chairman and chief executive officer of
Humanoid robots are now moving out of the lab and into the real world, but they remain well out of reach for most consumers. Moya, for example, is expected to fully launch in late 2026 for 1.2 million yen, or around $173,000 / £127,000 / AU$248,000.
The title for “scariest realistic robot walk” arguably still goes to Xpeng’s IRON (above), which walks like a catwalk model so convincingly that many suspected it was a human cosplaying as a robot.
This myth was dispelled when the robot fell spectacularly on its face during its first public demo (see 0:20 sec in the video above), proving that failure has now become a rite of passage for the heirs of Honda’s legendary ASIMO. Or maybe they just lull us into a false sense of security.
Either way, CES 2026 showed us that humanoid robots are a long way from wandering around our homes, even if the 1X Neo (yours for just $20,000) briefly seemed like the answer to our prayers for housework.
The reality is that truly advanced robots for our homes don’t need to look like Moya, much less have warm skin or 92% walking accuracy. Commenters on the South China Morning Post video about Moya said: “If she dares to take two steps towards my bed, I’ll throw her off the balcony” and “He walks like a ghost, looks like a deterrent to burglars and keeps scary neighbors away.” »
Instead, we are more likely to encounter humanoid robots in their first roles in public service. UBTech Robotics recently won a big contract to station its humanoids at the Sino-Vietnamese border crossing, where they will guide travelers and, more worryingly, carry out inspections.
And Droidup also says it sees robots like Moya as best suited for “public service scenarios” in “train stations, banks, museums and shopping centers, providing the public with practical services such as consultation, route guidance and information input.”
This might be worrying news for those who work in these places, but for now, our home robots are more likely to resemble the best robot vacuum cleaners than a humanoid with camera-operated eyes and warm skin.
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