Alex is a next-generation bipedal humanoid robot developed by the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola, Florida, funded by the US Office of Naval Research and Army Research Laboratory. Weighing approximately 85 kg with 29 joints powered entirely by custom quasi-direct drive cycloidal actuators, Alex is designed for urban search and rescue, disaster response, and outdoor navigation. It builds on lessons from IHMCs prior Nadia robot and features fully onboard computation, advanced whole-body balance control, and teleoperation with haptic feedback.
Primary use case: Research demonstration of human-robot collaboration and untethered humanoid operation
Locomotion
bipedal
Hand Type
unknown
Autonomy Level
unknown
Onboard Compute
onboard
Availability
not_available
Primary Use Case
Research demonstration of human-robot collaboration and untethered humanoid operation
All-electric humanoid robot Alex revealed by IHMC. No hydraulics, battery-powered, designed for real-world urban environments and first-responder scenarios. Predecessor Nadia was lab-tethered; Alex is untethered. Demo at IHMC open house includes door traversal, shadow boxing. Design competition for new head announced.
North American companies ordered 10,989 robots valued at $723.5 million in the third quarter of 2026, according to new data released by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). Orders increased 24.8 percent in units and 26.1 percent in value compared to the third quarter of 2025, making it the strongest quarter of the year so […]
The US Army announced five winners of its xTechHumanoid competition from a pool of 103 applicants, selecting finalists for their potential military applications of humanoid robots. The winners — ACES Group, IHMC Robotics, Hydroplane Limited, Ras Labs, and Velocity Explorations — each received $25,000 and demonstrated technologies including batteries, tactile sensors, and communication-interpreting software. The Army emphasized both commercial robotics progress and significant remaining technical challenges, particularly around speed, payload, and endurance.