Noetix unveils humanoid robot receptionist with lifelike face

Chinese robotics startup Noetix has launched Hobbs W1, a humanoid service robot designed for public-facing roles such as reception and guidance in hospitality, retail, education, and corporate environments. Hobbs W1 features a lifelike female-styled bionic head combined with an interactive display, dexterous six-degree-of-freedom hands, and five-degree-of-freedom robotic arms, enabling it to perform natural gestures, hand over items, and carry out light physical tasks. The robot also boasts fully autonomous navigation, emotion recognition, natural conversation abilities, and real-time information synchronization, allowing it to operate independently in complex indoor settings while supporting human workers by handling routine tasks. In addition to Hobbs W1, Noetix recently introduced Bumi, a child-sized humanoid robot priced under US$1,400, following a US$41 million pre-Series B funding round. This pricing significantly disrupts the typical high cost of humanoid robots, which often reach six figures. No