Realbotix: humanoid robots with interchangeable design

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The startup Realbotix is developing humanoid robots for dialogue-oriented applications at its headquarters in Las Vegas. In 2025, the company could only present initial prototypes. At CES 2026, Realbotix presented three finished full-body models: Aria, Melody, and David.

They are intended for use in the areas of "service" and "interaction." This includes trade fair stands, training environments, reception areas of hotels, insurance companies, or shopping malls, but also medical applications, said Realbotix CEO Andrew Kiguel in an interview with heise online.

Users can converse with the dolls via AI language models. The speech output is coupled with lip and jaw movements to visually accompany what is being said. Stationary robots are powered by mains electricity, while mobile variants come with integrated batteries for time-limited autonomous operation.

The androids from Realbotix look deceptively similar to high-quality sex robots from RealDoll or Irontech Doll. However, the company categorically rejected such intended uses in its conversation with heise online.

Two different base robots

Realbotix essentially offers two different modules: busts and life-size full-body variants. Heads, faces, and housing parts can be exchanged. Prices for the busts start at US$20,000, and for complete robots at US$95,000.

Individually controllable actuators move the mouth, eyelids, eyebrows, and cheeks. Servomotors with position feedback control head movements as well as arms and upper body. The animated dolls cannot walk.

Optional cameras in the eyes capture the robots' field of vision. Facial and object recognition software processes the camera image. This allows the robot to keep objects in view and track them through its pupils. Microphones with directional filtering capture spoken language. However, at the trade fair, communication only worked via handheld microphones due to background noise.

Customization at an additional cost

Realbotix offers extensions for an additional charge. The aforementioned facial recognition is one such extra. Additional interchangeable heads, individually adapted voices, and the integration of users' own AI models are also available.

Upon request, Realbotix manufactures custom characters. According to the company, additional costs start at US$20,000, for example, for custom-modeled faces. The degree of customization ranges from simple changes such as a different skin tone to completely redesigned humanoid figures.

The robots use proprietary, customized AI models. The company provided no further details about the AI models or their training. The robots connect to the internet via WLAN. Depending on the application, they process data locally or in the cloud. External AI models can also be integrated, for example, via interfaces from OpenAI, Hugging Face, or local installations like LM Studio.

Planned AI subscription without robots

In parallel, Realbotix is working on an independent AI that is separate from the hardware. Users will be able to use AI characters via a subscription on any device without owning a robot.

The AI currently used in the robots focuses on dialogue functions and the control of mechanical components. The system currently supports conversations exclusively in English. According to Realbotix, the reason for this is limitations in lip synchronization in other languages within the cloud services used. However, the company plans to support other languages in the future.

Control and configuration via app

Dialogues, movement profiles, and personality parameters can be configured via a mobile app. This allows the robots to be adapted for different application scenarios.

heise online is a media partner of CES 2026

(akr)