- A Chinese robotics startup has revealed a super-realistic humanoid robot
- DroidUp claims Moya is the first “AI biomimetic robot”
- Moya is expected to launch in late 2026 for 1.2 million yen (around $173,000 / £127,000 / AU$248,000).
Eerily realistic humanoid robots are becoming a big topic of 2026, and a Shanghai startup just revealed what could be the closest thing to an extra western world.
Fortunately, it’s still easy to tell that Moya is actually a robot: the sticky skin, dead eyes, and slightly jerky movements give it away. But some interesting, or perhaps creepy, details mean he’s also head and shoulders above the average cold-blooded companion.
First of all, Moya’s skin is really 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 maker Droidup, in an interview with Shanghai Eye.
That’s up for debate, but the robot has a body temperature of 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, educational and commercial applications, as well as being a daily companion for humans.
These realistic elements extend to Moya’s walking style, which Droidup claims has a 92% accuracy rate. It’s unclear how that’s measured, and it seems generous when you see Mora shuffling gingerly like she’s just done a two-hour HIIT workout.
However, Moya’s ‘Walker 3’ skeleton is the sequel to the one that won the bronze medal at the world’s first robot half marathon, held in Beijing in April 2025. And there’s no doubt that this robot has some impressive abilities beyond human movement.
Behind its eyes is a camera, which means it can interact with humans and respond with human-like “micro-expressions.” Naturally, there’s AI on board too, which is why Droidup calls Moya the world’s first “smart robot with fully biomimetic embodiment.”
That description is open to interpretation, but Mora is another impressive example of how AI is moving out of the digital world and into the physical, with increasingly compelling results.
Analysis: Robots are coming, but not to our homes
He Xiaopeng, president and CEO of Xpeng Motors, yesterday addressed the incident in which Iron, Chinese maker NEV’s humanoid robot, unexpectedly fell while standing during its first public offline debut at Mixc in Shenzhen Bay on January 31, saying it reminds him of how everyone… pic.twitter.com/nDwKOrypTzFebruary 2, 2026
Humanoid robots are now moving out of laboratories and into the real world, but they remain 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 of ‘most creepily realistic robotic walk’ still possibly belongs to Xpeng’s IRON (above), which struts around like a runway model in a manner so convincing that many have suspected it’s a human disguised as a robot.
That myth was dispelled when the robot spectacularly fell on its face during its first public demonstration (see 0:20s in the video above), proving that failures have now become a rite of passage for the heirs of Honda’s legendary ASIMO. Or maybe they are simply lulling us into a false sense of security.
Either way, CES 2026 showed us that humanoid robots are nowhere close to strolling through our homes, even if the 1X Neo (its one for just $20,000) briefly seemed like the answer to our housework prayers.
The reality is that robots that are truly evolved 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 will throw her off the balcony” and “She walks like a ghost, looks like a deterrent to burglars and keeps the creepy neighbors at bay.”
Instead, we will most likely encounter humanoid robots in their first public service roles. UBTech Robotics recently won a big contract to place its humanoids at the China-Vietnam border crossing, where they will guide travelers and, more worryingly, conduct inspections.
And Droidup says it also sees robots like Moya as best suited for “public service scenarios” in “train stations, banks, museums, and shopping malls, providing the public with convenient services such as consultation, route guidance, and information input.”
It might be worrying news for those who work in those places, but for now, our home robots are more likely to look like the best robotic vacuum cleaners than a humanoid with camera-powered eyes and warm skin.
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