xTechHumanoid: the US Army has recognised Alex, an armoured humanoid developed by the IHMC, as one of five winners

Out of 103 proposals, the US Army has shortlisted five projects: a fully-fledged humanoid robot with ballistic protection, as well as power modules, tactile sensors and command software.

The U.S. Army has named the five winners of its xTechHumanoid competition, after demonstrations by nine finalists on September 9 and 10 at the Quantico Marine Air Force Base. The call generated 103 applications, covering everything from complete humanoid robots to subsystems.

Only one complete robot among the winners

The most advanced is Alex, designed by the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). This 85 kg humanoid including battery combines shock-resistant actuators, ballistic protection and hybrid autonomy where AI works in concert with a human operator, for complex or dangerous missions.

The other four winners provide components: a modular storage power system (ACEs Group), lightweight mobile generators for contested terrain (Hydroplane), highly sensitive fingertip touch sensors (RAS Labs) and software that translates command intent into concrete actions for a humanoid (Velocity Explorations). The Army sees this as a first step in the way of possible military uses for these machines.