Mitsubishi joins the humanoid race at 1,000 unit per MONTH pace
Avatar for Jo Borrás Jo Borrás | Aug 7 2026 - 5:47 am PT 20 Comments Mitsubishi Motors and Highlanders Sign MOU to Establish a New Industrial Foundation Where Humans and Robots Work Together Mitsubishi is joining the rapidly growing ranks of robot builders...
Key takeaways
- In early August 2026 a wave of developments reshaped the humanoid‑robot landscape.
- Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology, GenerativeBionics and the University of Manchester unveiled the human‑aware “ergoCub,” a new humanoid that can adapt its movements during shared lifting tasks, aiming to reduce back strain for human partners.
- At the same time, the U.S.
- Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on imports of foreign‑made humanoid and quadruped robots—targeting especially Chinese manufacturers such as Unitree—citing national‑security and supply‑chain risks.
- Chinese robot maker Unitree responded by pricing an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, seeking roughly $900 million and valuing the company at about $9 billion, while highlighting the commercial appeal of its humanoids that have become viral for feats like kung‑fu performances.
Buyer next steps
Compare source-backed options on HumanoidHub
Use HumanoidHub catalog records and buyer guides to verify robot availability, source links, and shortlist fit before contacting manufacturers.
Avatar for Jo Borrás Jo Borrás | Aug 7 2026 - 5:47 am PT
20 Comments
Mitsubishi Motors and Highlanders Sign MOU to Establish a New Industrial Foundation Where Humans and Robots Work Together
Mitsubishi is joining the rapidly growing ranks of robot builders, with plans to build up to 1,000 of its Highlanders humanoid robots per month at one of the automaker’s ICE engine plants in Kyoto – and if the plan comes together, the automaker could begin mass-producing its new worker-bots as early as next year. While the normals probably think of Mitsubishi as primarily an also-ran automaker, the company is recognized as a global leader in the automation and controls space – and it’s into that space that the company is planning to inject thousands of new industrial robots.
The humanoids, co-developed by Mitsubishi and Highlanders, a new startup from the University of Tokyo, will explore the development of the humanoid robots for use at Mitsubishi’s manufacturing facilities first, even putting them to work making themselves at the company’s former Kyoto engine plant according to a memo of understanding (MOU) signed by the two companies last month. Mitsubishi Highlanders’ flagship humanoid platform, dubbed “HL Human,” features a “19-degree-of-freedom” (DOF) body equipped with high-output electric actuators that the company claims enable human-like movement. The robot is designed to autonomously perform complex industrial tasks using AI-powered perception, motion planning, and natural-language interaction with its human co-workers, who will help train it to do practical work in manufacturing, logistics, construction, and disaster response fields where labor shortages are becoming increasingly severe.
Cue the commenters who think “just pay people more” would (or even should) convince more people to rush into radioactive spaces and volunteer to get black lung.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Mitsubishi Motors, Interesting Engineering.
New robots, funding, and signals. Every Thursday.
Unsubscribe anytime.
Mentioned in this article