China launches OpenHarmony robot OS for humanoids and AI robotics
China’s Shenzhen Kaihong Digital launched M-Robots OS 2.0, an OpenHarmony-based distributed operating system for multi-robot collaboration, addressing industry fragmentation and enabling low-latency AI-native coordination across humanoid and industrial robots. The platform, now open-source and managed by the OpenAtom Foundation, integrates 16 specialized working groups and supports over 20 robot types, including bipedal humanoids and robotic arms, with compatibility for ROS1, ROS2, and Dora-rs ecosystems.
China has introduced M-Robots OS 2.0, a distributed multi-robot operating system built on OpenHarmony, during the OpenHarmony Smart IoT Ecosystem Conference in Shenzhen. Developed by Shenzhen Kaihong Digital Industry Development Co., the platform aims to unify fragmented robotics ecosystems by enabling coordination between different robot types, devices, and AI agents under a single architecture. The latest version addresses long-standing industry challenges like duplicated software development and disconnected systems. It integrates six core capabilities: a modular architecture supporting devices from 20KB embedded systems to GB-scale industrial robots, hybrid real-time deployment with sub-microsecond latency, M-DDS low-latency communications (achieving 4ms audio/video latency), cross-device collaboration through a 'super device' architecture, AI-native multi-agent coordination, and middleware compatibility for ROS1, ROS2, and Dora-rs, reducing migration costs by 80%. M-Robots OS 2.0 builds on OpenHarmony, the open-source foundation behind Huawei’s HarmonyOS. Since its 1.0 release in April 2025, the project has expanded rapidly, becoming fully open-source in July 2025 and joining the OpenAtom Foundation in November. It now includes 16 specialized SIG working groups and has attracted over 30 industry, academic, and research organizations, including Harbin Institute of Technology and Beijing University of Technology. The platform supports more than 20 robot categories, from bipedal humanoids to robotic arms and industrial drones. Kaihong Digital highlighted its ability to provide a unified full-stack framework for diverse applications, including healthcare, education, and AI computing. Partnerships with companies like D-Robotics are accelerating ecosystem expansion. The OS’s open-source model and broad compatibility aim to foster localization in China’s robotics industry, reducing reliance on foreign software standards. Developers emphasize its potential to streamline multi-robot collaboration, particularly in industrial automation and AI-driven systems.
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