Robotera L7

The Robotera L7, developed by Robotera (also known as Robot Era), a Tsinghua University spin-off founded in 2023, represents a significant advancement in full-size bipedal humanoid robotics. Standing at 171 cm tall and weighing 65 kg (without dexterous hands), the L7 features 55 degrees of freedom (DoF) across its body, including 7-DoF arms, a 3-DoF waist, and proprietary 12-DoF direct-drive XHAND1 dexterous hands with five fingers. Its architecture emphasizes a 'body plus brain' unified design, powered by self-developed high-torque joint modules delivering up to 400 N·m peak torque at the knees (25 rad/s peak speed) and an impressive 4 m/s (14.4 km/h) top running speed, making it the fastest full-sized bipedal humanoid to date. The frame utilizes aerospace-grade aluminum alloy and carbon fiber composites for lightweight strength, with polymer shells for outer protection. At the core of the L7's intelligence is the ERA-42, China's first Vision-Language-Action (VLA) large multimodal model, an end-to-end embodied AI system trained on vast video datasets including unlabeled videos, human activities, and teleoperation data. ERA-42 integrates vision, language, touch, and proprioception into a single neural network, enabling causal understanding of actions and outcomes for robust generalization. It controls the full 55 DoF for tasks from agile locomotion (360° rotational jumps, breakdancing, hip-hop) to precise manipulation (10 clicks/second e-sports speed, tool use like drilling or screwing). Compute is handled by an on-board ERA-42 computer: 80 TOPS x86 + 275 TOPS NVIDIA Jetson Orin, supporting low-latency inference. Perception relies on a multi-sensor head with binocular stereo RGB-D cameras, 3D LiDAR for 360° field-of-view spatial awareness, microphone array, and speakers for voice interaction. A swappable 60V 15 Ah battery ensures continuous operation, with estimated 6-8 hours runtime under mixed loads (unverified). The 2.1 m arm span and 20 kg dual-arm payload enable a 2.1 m spherical workspace. Real-world deployment history began post-July 2025 unveiling, with pre-orders and pilots in logistics (e.g., SF Express parcel sorting/scanning), manufacturing (Geely, Renault component picking/assembly), commercial services (Haier retail), and R&D (ByteDance, Skild AI). By late 2025, Robotera reported shipping 200+ humanoids, RMB 500M+ orders from nine of the top ten global tech firms, and overseas revenue (North America, Europe, Japan, Korea) at 50%. Modular configs (full-body L7, upper-body M7) support scalable 'group intelligence' fleets without external servers. Demos showcase industrial tasks like intelligent sorting, handling, assembly, scanning, bartending, alongside athletic feats, positioning L7 for factory automation, warehousing, and service labs. Challenges remain in formal safety ratings and verified endurance, but its native embodied AI bridges sim-to-real gaps effectively.