NAVAI-I3

The NAVAI-I3 humanoid robot, unveiled by the Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center in Ningbo, China, in November 2025, marks a significant evolution in the NAVIAI series, emphasizing robustness, multi-terrain agility, and practical deployment in security applications. Established in 2023 on the foundation of Zhejiang University's Wukong 4.0 platform, the center has rapidly progressed from prototypes to near-commercial products, aligning with China's national goal for humanoid mass production by 2025. Architecturally, the NAVAI-I3 adopts a full humanoid bipedal design with approximately 44 degrees of freedom overall, including 14 in each hand for dexterous manipulation. Standing at 180 cm tall and weighing 80 kg, it features an aluminum frame reinforced with composite panels for durability and lightweight performance. Propulsion relies on high-torque electric servo motors paired with harmonic drives, delivering peak joint torques up to 83 Nm/kg (inferred from i2 specs). The lower limbs are the standout upgrade, boasting enhanced torque for large strides, straight-knee walking, natural arm swing, and speeds up to 9 km/h in running mode. This enables stable locomotion on challenging terrains like gravel roads, slopes, and uneven surfaces, with demonstrated anti-disturbance capabilities—recovering from pushes and maintaining balance during squatting or bending. The sensory architecture includes multiple 1080p RGB cameras augmented by depth sensors for vision fusion control, achieving sub-millimeter precision in end-effector tasks as seen in prior generations. Ingress protection is IP20, suitable for indoor/outdoor research but not harsh environments. Connectivity options encompass Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 5G for teleoperation and data streaming. At its core is a high-performance compute stack: an ARM-based CPU paired with embedded GPUs delivering 275 TOPS of AI inference power, enabling low-latency (150-250 ms) glass-to-action responses. The OS is Linux-based with a custom real-time control stack, employing a dual-core architecture to isolate real-time motion control (4 kHz communication frequency) from higher-level tasks. AI paradigms focus on anthropomorphic whole-body imitation learning, allowing motion capture and replay of human gaits and interactions without extensive programming. Embodied intelligent navigation handles dynamic obstacle avoidance, while vision-guided manipulation supports tool use and precision operations. No specific LLM integration is confirmed, but the compute capacity positions it for future multimodal models like vision-language-action frameworks. Real-world deployment history underscores its maturity. The center operates a full-scale simulation facility replicating factories, homes, retail, and streets for training. The NAVAI-I3 has been showcased patrolling Ningbo streets as a 'mechanical guardian,' greeting humans, inspecting areas, and demonstrating basketball-like agility. Potential security clients have expressed interest, prompting overtime production scaling. Early pilots highlight resilience to impacts and versatility for inspections, logistics, and public safety, transitioning from lab prototypes to field trials amid China's aggressive robotics ecosystem push.