Watch: T800 humanoid kung fu kicks its way to mass production

It's hard not to think of 'T800' without "The Terminator" and "Skynet" coming to mind. However, EngineAI has created a robot with that exact name. This isn’t Hollywood science fiction; it’s an acrobatic, combat-ready machine that will soon be mass-produced for industrial applications, and is backed by a billion yuan in financing.

EngineAI, a Shenzhen-based robotics company founded in 2023, has recently become the talk of the robotics industry, thanks to the T800's tagline "Born to subvert." Indeed, the robot’s demo showcased a high degree of mobility, as it demonstrated its ability to perform high-flying kicks and kung fu moves with ease. The machine could even spar with humans.

In fact, the demo looked so slick that the company had to release a behind-the-scenes video to counter online allegations that the demo was created using CGI. Even the EngineAI CEO, Zhao Tongyang – a veteran in the robotics field – posted an Instagram video where the T800 kicked him across the room. Extraordinary commitment to his product!

The T800 stands at 1.73 m (5.7 ft) tall and weighs 75 kg (165 lb) – battery included. The robot is encased in aerospace-grade magnesium-aluminum alloy, which is highly durable but lightweight. Its body has 29 degrees of freedom (DoF). When you couple this with its 450-Nm (332-lb.ft) torque joints, the T800’s movement capabilities could be considered on par with or even better than human athletes.

The machine has seven DoF in each hand (a total of 43 DoF overall when you factor in the body) and can handle a wide range of objects up to 5 kg (11 lb). The robot's leg joints are equipped with an advanced active cooling system to help maintain continuous high performance. Because of this, the company says that the T800 can handle heavy workloads for long periods without overheating.

Its modular solid-state battery allows it to handle high-intensity operations for up to four hours. In the real world, this will be equivalent to a part-time shift in logistics, inspection, and research without taking a break. Since the battery is modular, it can easily be switched when the robot needs to do more work, as well as making it easily upgradable in the future.

The T800’s 360° LiDAR system is reported to enable the processing of the environment around the humanoid in milliseconds. This allows it to navigate its way around and accurately avoid obstacles. It processes all of this using an Intel N97 CPU coupled with a NVIDIA AGX Orin module, giving it 275 TOPS of AI computing power.

All of which helps demonstrate that the T800 is capable of doing way more than just martial arts stunts in a highly regulated environment.

EngineAI has come a long way since debuting its first front-flipping humanoid earlier this year, but the startup still has a ways to go with the T800. Sure, it can already bust moves and throw kicks with impressive ease, but practical tasks such as folding a towel or threading a needle have yet to be demonstrated.

Such things may not be in the company's immediate training plans however, as the T800 is initially headed for industrial applications – where next-level dexterity is perhaps less important and comparatively simple repetitive tasks such as mounting components on a production line will be the order of the day.

EngineAI isn't alone in this rapidly growing development space of course, we've already seen Mercedes, BMW and others put humanoids to work. But even with stiff competition from heavyweights like Tesla’s Optimus and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, the company could still find an edge. Mass production for industrial applications will reportedly start soon, and shipping dates for the first units are expected to begin around mid-2026.

Confidence in this new company appears to be quite high too, given the strong investor backing from several companies – including Huangpu River Capital and the Henan Investment Group’s Huirong Fund – to the tune of 1 billion yuan (more than US$142 million).

Source: EngineAI