Meta has developed a humanoid prototype with Chinese robotics company Fourier and has begun preparing a second-generation version, The Information reported on Oct. 31 local time. The move is aimed at speeding up the development of home robots.

The report said the two companies developed a humanoid weighing about 106 pounds in three months. They call it "Max" internally. Meta plans to use it to develop a more complete product that it could eventually bring to market. It has not set a target launch date.

The Information said the prototype is Meta's most concrete achievement since it set up a robotics unit called Meta Robotics Studio early last year.

Meta also appears to be stepping up home robot development as it releases its AI agent for individual users, "Muse". Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth (앤드루 보즈워스) described the humanoid internally as Muse’s AI agent getting a real body.

Li-Qian Miller (리첸 밀러), Meta's vice president in charge of robot products, stayed at Fourier’s factory in Shanghai for nearly two months and took part in the prototype development. Meta demonstrated Max directly to some employees at an internal robot event in late August.

Max is about 1.5 metres tall and is based on an Nvidia Jetson Thor chip. It has two speakers on its chest and mimics human facial expressions with its eyes and mouth. Using hands with five fingers, it picks up small bottles and toys. It can recognise voices from 5 metres away, read hand gestures from 3 metres away, and make eye contact.

The two companies have been developing "Max 2" since September. They are redesigning the torso and hands to handle objects better. It will also include a projector to display video and sensors to go up and down stairs.

A Meta spokesperson said, "Sourcing parts that are difficult to obtain domestically is a reality the entire industry faces," adding, "Cooperation with Fourier is for internal research and there are no plans to sell."