The First Mass-Produced Humanoid Robot from India, the Spaceo Series Unveiled

According to reports, Muks Robotics recently launched its next-generation humanoid robot Spaceo series, claiming it to be "India's first humanoid robot" and aiming to advance the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

Muks Robotics, based in Pune, India, made a high-profile announcement on March 7, unveiling India’s first mass-producible humanoid robot, Spaceo. The robot stands at 2.13 meters tall with a wingspan of 2.4 meters. In the promotional video, Spaceo demonstrates its capabilities with elegant movements, starting with a bow and then bringing its hands together in a gesture of respect. The series includes three distinct robots: Spaceo Pro, Spaceo M1, and Spaceo Prime, each designed for industrial operations, social services, and space missions, respectively.

The Spaceo series robots are equipped with the FusionMax AGI system, a multimodal AI system that integrates autonomous thinking, communication, visual recognition, and task planning abilities. This system supports visual and auditory functions and enables speech interaction, enhancing the robots' ability to engage with humans more effectively.

Among them, Spaceo Pro is designed for heavy industrial operations, offering impressive load-bearing capacity of up to 200 kilograms. Each arm features seven degrees of freedom, enabling it to lift objects weighing up to 10 kilograms with ease. However, despite its industrial capabilities, its current pulley design cannot handle stairs or complex environments, raising questions about its full adaptation to heavy industrial settings. Spaceo M1 is positioned as an "autonomous intelligent social humanoid robot," ideal for service scenarios that require long-duration conversations, and can communicate in multiple languages. Spaceo Prime is designed for space missions, reflecting Muks Robotics' mission to "ensure the survival of humanity" and expand human activity into space.

The FusionMax AGI system serves as the "brain" of the Spaceo series robots, combining motion, vision, speech, and language capabilities. It operates entirely offline and can seamlessly adapt to new environments. The system also uses supervised learning, enabling the robots to autonomously learn tasks based on examples and feedback from human trainers, significantly enhancing their intelligence.

Muks Robotics was founded by Dr. Mukesh Bangar, an AI and robotics engineer who was once a dentist. He established Muks Robotics in 2021 with the goal of developing robots that can think, imagine, and plan, ultimately extending human existence into space. Dr. Bangar stated on LinkedIn, “From concept to reality, Spaceo embodies the future of AI-driven automation."

In recent years, the Indian government has actively promoted technological innovation and advanced manufacturing, aiming for self-reliance in fields like AI and robotics. In 2024, Prime Minister Modi launched the "Robot Self-Reliance Plan," which provides R&D subsidies to local companies to drive the domestic development of critical technologies. This governmental push is helping India's robotics industry gradually thrive, especially in humanoid robotics, with increasing investments in R&D.

With India's growing economy and the increasing aging population, the demand for humanoid robots is expected to continue rising, particularly in the manufacturing and service sectors. Humanoid robots are expected to replace humans in dangerous, strenuous, or repetitive tasks, thereby improving productivity and workplace safety. The Spaceo series robots have already been piloted in automobile factories, where they assist with heavy lifting tasks, significantly enhancing the flexibility of production lines and showcasing their broad potential for industrial applications.

Despite significant progress in India's humanoid robotics industry, there remains a gap when compared to international leaders. India's industrial base is relatively weak, and core components are still imported, which limits the development of humanoid robots. To reduce manufacturing costs and improve efficiency, Indian companies need to strengthen cooperation across the entire industrial chain to promote the commercialization of humanoid robots.

In conclusion, the launch of the Spaceo series robots by Muks Robotics undoubtedly injects strong momentum into India's robotics industry. With continuous technological advancements, these robots are expected to play increasingly important roles in industries, services, and space exploration. However, to achieve large-scale application, there are still many challenges to overcome, including technical, cost, and supply chain integration issues.