Sep 13, 2026, Guangzhou — WWNT Robotics (wwntAI) today announced a research partnership with the UT Austin Human-Centered Robotics Laboratory (HCRL), led by Prof. Luis Sentis. Under the agreement, WWNT will provide HCRL with Mini Pi Plus and Mini Pi Plus Pro humanoid platforms for academic research with hardware-level technical support.
Key highlights
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Providing HCRL with Mini Pi Plus and Plus Pro platforms marks WWNT's formal entry into the US academic research market.
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Milestones: docs delivered, hardware shipped, and Prof. Luis Sentis will meet WWNT founder Henry IP at IROS 2026 to discuss further cooperation.
Milestones
Technical docs delivered
In late August, WWNT delivered a full hardware support documentation package to Prof. Sentis' team and Austin partners
Hardware shipped
Mini Pi Plus / Plus Pro robots are en route, expected in Austin in late September 2026
IROS 2026 meeting confirmed
Prof. Sentis confirmed a visit to the WWNT booth at IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026 in Pittsburgh, Sep 27 – Oct 1
On-site demo proposed
WWNT proposed a return visit to HCRL on Oct 2 for free on-site demos and support
A key milestone in WWNT's North America strategy
This partnership is a key step in WWNT's North America expansion. As HighTorque's exclusive North America partner for Mini Pi humanoids and joint modules, WWNT is delivering research-grade hardware directly to top US robotics labs with full after-sales support.
This cooperation upholds the"academics first"principle: WWNT provides hardware and support for research only, letting teams focus on frontier research.
"Placing our Mini Pi Plus humanoid platform in one of the world's top human-centered robotics labs is a key step in our North America strategy. We are honored to support Prof. Sentis and his team and look forward to meeting them at IROS 2026 in Pittsburgh."
About the Partnership
WWNT RoboticsRobots（WWNT Robotics）
focused on research-grade humanoid hardware and embodied AI education. The company is HighTorque's exclusive North America partner for Mini Pi humanoids and joint modules, and the developer of the fully open-source ROS 2 humanoid arm platform OpenArm.
UT-Austin Human Centered Robotics Lab（HCRL）
Led by Prof. Luis Sentis, focused on whole-body control, task and motion planning, human factors, and experimental research on humanoid, mobile manipulation, and exoskeleton robots. Prof. Sentis is internationally renowned for pioneering humanoid whole-body control and helped design and test NASA's Valkyrie humanoid.
Media contact
For media inquiries, contact:WWNT RoboticsRobots（WWNT Robotics）— Support@wwntai.com