(ECNS) -- Shanghai AgiBot, in operation for just a few months, has already produced 1,000 humanoid robots in 2024, and is expected to reach an annual production of several thousand by 2025, according to the company. At the Data Collection Center of AgiBot, 100 humanoid robot âapprenticesâ work alongside data collection specialists in real-life scenarios such as restaurants, milk tea shops, and family homes. The robots conduct tasks like making drinks, laying tablecloths, ironing clothes, and making the bed. They imitate daily human movements, collecting over a thousand pieces of operation data per day. Yao Maoqing, executive director of AgiBot Robotics Research Institute, stated that the action data collected from these robot âapprenticesâ will be uploaded to a cloud for model training. Through generalized learning, a universal model will be formed and deployed on every robot. Yao highlighted that robots are improving logistics operations with automated warehousing systems and intelligent packaging. The future of human work will turn to robot scheduling and solution development, freeing them from repetitive tasks, he added. Chinaâs humanoid market boasts great potential. Morgan Stanley recently released a list of the top 100 publicly listed companies in the global humanoid robot sector, with 37 Chinese companies making the cut. According to the Chinese Institute of Electronics, the domestic humanoid robot market is expected to reach approximately 870 billion yuan ($119.44 billion) by 2030. Robots help climbers conquer Taishan Dancing robots, drone performance and eVTOL aircraft on Spring Festival Gala showcase China's tech a
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Humanoid robots make their way into China's consumer market
(ECNS) -- Humanoid robots are now rapidly transitioning from futuristic concepts to reality in China. On February 12, Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics launched two humanoid robotsâUnitree H1 and Unitree G1âfor sale on JD.com, one of China's largest e-commerce platforms. Both models sold out almost immediately after release. Can humanoid robots become household staples? Currently, pricing remains a key barrier to mass adoption. But Unitree G1's price tag of 99,000 yuan ($13,800) already reflects strong consumer interest. As technology advances and production scales up, prices are expected to drop significantly. Industry experts predict that quadruped robots could eventually cost as little as 3,000â4,000 yuan, making them accessible to everyday consumers. Similarly, humanoid robots may need to be priced at several thousand yuan for mass-market adoption. Although humanoid robots are not yet ready for widespread household use, improved technology and lower costs will accelerate their integration into daily life over the next few years. Meanwhile, humanoid robots are already making an impact in industrial settings. Companies such as Tesla (Optimus) and UBTECH (Walker S) have deployed humanoid robots in automotive factories for transportation, quality inspection, and other repetitive tasks. A report by Guotai Junan Securities suggests that as AI technology and hardware continue to improve, humanoid robots are on the brink of large-scale commercialization â making 2025 a potential breakthrough year for mass production. Beyond direct purchases, humanoid robots are also gaining traction in the rental market. On social media, e-commerce, and second-hand platforms, daily rental rates for humanoid robots range from 1,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan, depending on the model and function. Unitree's G1 humanoid robot is currently the most rented model, with most listings pricing it at 15,000 yuan per day. It is commonly used for business events, exhibitions, and performances. According to customer service representatives, rental packages include transportation, setup, and on-site technical support, ensuring a seamless experience for businesses looking to incorporate robots into their operations. As demand surges and AI-driven robotics advance, humanoid robots are steadily moving from factories and exhibitions to households â bringing the world one step closer to a robot-assisted future. Chinese humanoid robot conducts world's first front flip Humanoid robot walking robotic dog wows visitors at 2025 Global Developer Conference China holds leading position in humanoid robot industry: report Shanghai's first humanoid robot factory begins mass production
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Humanoid Robots: China, United States Compete for Technology's Next Big …
Description: AI models are getting all the attention right now, but China and the United States are already competing for a new prize.
Content:
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Evening roundup with our editors’ favorite stories of the day Your guide to the most important world stories of the day The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week Weekly update on what’s driving U.S. national security policy A curation of our best book reviews, deep dives, and other reads Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors Curated guides on geopolitics and current affairs One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture A weekly dispatch with news from the region’s 11 countries Analysis: The Global Race for Humanoid Robots Heats Up Create an FP account to save articles to read later. Sign Up ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN Downloadable PDFs are a benefit of an FP subscription. Subscribe Now ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN Gifting articles is a subscriber benefit. Subscribe Now ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN This article is an Insider exclusive. Contact us at [email protected] to learn about upgrade options, unlocking the ability to gift this article. Print Archive See All Follow FP on X Follow FP on LinkedIn Follow FP on Instagram Follow FP on Facebook Follow FP on X Follow FP on LinkedIn Follow FP on Instagram Follow FP on Facebook Foreign Policy Magazine is a division of Graham Holdings Company. All contents (c) 2025, Graham Digital Holding Company. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 655 15th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20005. The appearance of DeepSeek-R1, a Chinese AI model that seems to rival OpenAI’s latest offerings far more cheaply, shocked markets this week and erased $1 trillion from U.S. stock values. This event underscored the stakes of America’s technology race with China—and how close that race is. But as well as competing over AI models such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek-R1, these two tech superpowers are now also racing for a new prize: robots shaped like humans, with a head, torso, arms, and (often) legs. Such humanoid robots are central to the future plans recently announced by Jensen Huang, CEO of chipmaker Nvidia. Huang’s vision has led Nvidia’s rise to become one of the world’s biggest listed companies. Elon Musk correctly anticipated vast markets for space launch and electric vehicles—and Musk now predicts that the long-term value of Tesla’s humanoid robots “will exceed that of everything else at Tesla combined” and make it a $25 trillion company. Meanwhile, Chinese industrial policy is pouring a firehose of start-ups into humanoid robots. Advances in generative artificial intelligence since 2022 have turbocharged the development of humanoid robots, and this is accelerating. Twenty-seven humanoid robot models reportedly debuted at Beijing’s World Robot Conference in August 2024. A few months earlier, Huang had announced a new foundation model—the underlying model on which specific uses are built—developed for controlling humanoid robots. Humanoid robots aren’t yet viable in many real-world environments but have begun operating in Amazon warehouses and factories for Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Goldman Sachs Research anticipates a market worth $38 billion by 2035, and Citibank estimates 648 million humanoid robots by 2050. The appearance of DeepSeek-R1, a Chinese AI model that seems to rival OpenAI’s latest offerings far more cheaply, shocked markets this week and erased $1 trillion from U.S. stock values. This event underscored the stakes of America’s technology race with China—and how close that race is. But as well as competing over AI models such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek-R1, these two tech superpowers are now also racing for a new prize: robots shaped like humans, with a head, torso, arms, and (often) legs. Such humanoid robots are central to the future plans recently announced by Jensen Huang, CEO of chipmaker Nvidia. Huang’s vision has led Nvidia’s rise to become one of the world’s biggest listed companies. Elon Musk correctly anticipated vast markets for space launch and electric vehicles—and Musk now predicts that the long-term value of Tesla’s humanoid robots “will exceed that of everything else at Tesla combined” and make it a $25 trillion company. Meanwhile, Chinese industrial policy is pouring a firehose of start-ups into humanoid robots. Advances in generative artificial intelligence since 2022 have turbocharged the development of humanoid robots, and this is accelerating. Twenty-seven humanoid robot models reportedly debuted at Beijing’s World Robot Conference in August 2024. A few months earlier, Huang had announced a new foundation model—the underlying model on which specific uses are built—developed for controlling humanoid robots. Humanoid robots aren’t yet viable in many real-world environments but have begun operating in Amazon warehouses and factories for Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Goldman Sachs Research anticipates a market worth $38 billion by 2035, and Citibank estimates 648 million humanoid robots by 2050. Yet a robot is any machine that can perform a complicated series of tasks automatically, and robots can take many forms—such as robot arms in factories, self-driving cars, or military drones—so what are the advantages of a humanoid? Humanoid robots are a glittering prize for two reasons, which together promise a mutually reinforcing spiral. One is the huge potential market for robots that can use our human tools and function in our human environments. Second, as artificial intelligence butts up against limits to available data, humanoid robots offer a route to transform AI itself. With this huge prize on the line, it’s no wonder the world’s two superpowers, equally matched competitors, are seeking out every edge in the contest for human forms. Giving robots humanoid form—or at least aspects of it—opens up vastly more possibilities for those robots to act usefully in the human world, in which we have spent millennia, as well as trillions upon trillions of dollars, making tools and environments for humans shaped like us. A world full of stairs, tables, screwdrivers, medical instruments, and so on. A robot would be very useful if it moved around my Victorian house in London and used my tools to clean or cook. The same with workplaces such as factories, hospitals, elder care homes, or battlefields. Moreover, robots shaped to operate throughout our world can better accompany us as we go about our tasks, to collaborate with humans in teams. The human form also inspires new ways to make useful robots. Walking like a human with straight legs, for example, saves energy compared with typical robots that walk with bent legs. Human hands are awesome. Evolution gave humans fantastic capabilities, which is why so much of AI is benchmarked against human capabilities, from the Turing test of language to computer vision or the boardgame Go. Earlier generations of robots drew inspiration from simpler creatures such as insects or dogs—and today’s AI advances in areas such as language and planning make the human form a ripe target. Mass deployment of humanoid robots won’t be immediate. Advances in AI perception took years to reach mass scale in Amazon Alexas. Robotaxis spent years developing in U.S. and Chinese cities, and only in 2024 did Google’s Waymo reach an inflection point to surge from 1 million to 4 million passenger trips. But the humanoid form is so useful that there are huge addressable markets for them as the technology develops. And that is only half of the spiral that humanoid robots promise—the second is to fuel a new leap in AI itself. AI spent decades in the doldrums until a huge leap in computer vision in 2012, and that required a big new dataset of visual images to train the AI. 2022 saw a huge leap in generative AI with ChatGPT, and training that AI again required a huge leap in data, which in that case involved much of the internet. Both advances also needed enhanced computer power and computational techniques, but the data was crucial. Today, we have exhausted all the world’s easily accessible data for training models, so where can the next big leap in data come from? Simulating data helps, but we also need data grounded in reality. Humanoid robots can help provide vast new data, linked to reality, for learning how to act in the physical world. Robots are physically embodied. Today’s AI can give robots vision-language-action models that can take in text (like in ChatGPT), plus data from the robot’s physical environment (e.g., via cameras or microphones) and from internal sensors (e.g., of joint positions in a robot’s hand). It’s incredible how much data even a single human infant gets from their “external sensors”—a recent study used video and audio from a head-mounted camera on a single infant, and that data alone enabled an AI to learn many words and concepts. Adding the effects of an infant or a robot’s actions gives even more useful data about how the world works. And combining all these types of data can reduce hallucinations because when you stub your toe, for example, that’s a collision with reality. Humanoid robots gain additional advantages. They can learn from the actions of Earth’s most remarkable intelligences: humans. That’s why Nvidia’s Project GR00T aims to develop AI models that help humanoid robots learn by observing human demonstrations and by having human teleoperators help robots practice actions. How humans perform tasks can give humanoid robots the “right answers” from which to train. Such help is vital because of Moravec’s paradox: Tasks thought difficult for humans are often easy for AI (e.g., chess), but tasks thought easy for humans (e.g., putting a shirt on a hanger) can be very hard for AI. The right answers for actions such as putting shirts on hangers seem easy to humans, but robots can learn a lot from how humans succeed at such actions. If robots share our human form, it will also be easier for us to teach the robot: to explain how we perform actions with our bodies and to provide robots with feedback on their efforts that can help them learn. Such learning can happen at mass scale with millions of humanoid robots, bringing together both halves of the mutually reinforcing spiral that makes humanoid robots such a glittering prize in the global tech competition. More robots interacting with humans leads to more data from which their AIs can learn, which leads to better AI that in turn enhances the robots so they take on more jobs, which leads to more data from which their AIs can learn, and so it spirals onward. In the global race to win the prize of dominance in humanoid robots, China and the United States have different strengths—and each relates to a different half of this spiral involving mass manufacturing and AI learning. China’s big edge is manufacturing at scale. China is the world’s sole manufacturing superpower, with production exceeding the nine next largest manufacturers combined. China dominates some key robot markets, such as drones, where in 2023 DJI alone supplied 70 percent of the world’s drone users. China seems equal to the United States in robotaxis. And China’s huge EV companies are investing heavily in driver-assistance software to make their cars, as one Chinese auto executive described, “a robot on wheels.” Robotics in general was identified as one of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “new quality productive forces,” and in 2022 China installed more than half of the world’s industrial robots. Humanoid robots were identified by China as a key area for technological competition in 2023, when the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released its “Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots.” This year China seeks to establish a world-class innovative ecosystem for humanoid robots, and by 2027 it wants to integrate humanoid robots into manufacturing supply chains, use them at scale, and expand humanoid robot use throughout society. The United States’ big edge is in the most cutting-edge technologies at companies such as Nvidia, in its hub of start-ups, and at universities—and although America lacks China’s manufacturing scale, this could help it build better AI robot learning. A humanoid’s software “brain” accounts for roughly 80 percent of its value, and Nvidia chips still seem preferred for much cutting-edge AI in China. A U.S. company built ChatGPT, and U.S. researchers still push China into second place for publishing top-cited AI research. Allies are also key, with Britain for example publishing the third-most top-cited AI research, while Switzerland, Germany, and Japan manufacture many of the world’s industrial robots. But although China and the United States are evenly matched today, that can change. America pioneered much in the industries that manufacture semiconductors and industrial robots, for example, yet eventually fell far behind. China’s new DeepSeek-R1 suggests America’s edge in AI is hardly unassailable. So, what can Washington do? Competition to lead in humanoid robots may be the most consequential technological race of the next decade, but except for the rare few such as Nvidia’s Huang, most people don’t even know this race exists. A first step is greater awareness of this vital race among U.S. policy communities. Next, a better understanding of the challenge will help policymakers navigate the trade-offs needed to win this race, as inevitable political pressures around job losses, privacy, and political control affect these developing industries. Policy levers such as industrial strategy or tariffs (depending on political preferences) can also help protect the development of these vital new industries through their difficult early stages, in order to match Chinese efforts. The United States must not lose its advantage in the most cutting-edge research, but much of what is needed to compete in this race also requires a return to excellence in manufacturing at scale. And this itself reveals an intriguing change in our relationship with AI. Increasingly, AI will leave the virtual realm of TikTok, X, or Instagram feeds, and enter the hard reality of the physical world around us. Nicholas Wright is a neuroscientist affiliated with University College London, Georgetown University, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Commenting is a benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription. Subscribe Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log In. View Comments Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now. Subscribe Subscribe Not your account? Log out View Comments Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs. View Comments I agree to abide by FP’s comment guidelines. (Required) The default username below has been generated using the first name and last initial on your FP subscriber account. Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language. Username I agree to abide by FP’s comment guidelines. (Required) AI won big, but the prizes served as a reminder of what we could all lose. | The coming wave of technology is set to worsen global inequality. | It’s the exact wrong moment in history for nations to stop cooperating—but AI might yet help us. | Specialty rates for students and faculty. Lock in your rates for longer. Equip your students or team with powerful global intelligence. The MAGA revolution in U.S. foreign policy brings good news and bad. | | | | Follow FP on X Follow FP on LinkedIn Follow FP on Instagram Follow FP on Facebook Follow FP on X Follow FP on LinkedIn Follow FP on Instagram Follow FP on Facebook Foreign Policy Magazine is a division of Graham Holdings Company. All contents (c) 2025, Graham Digital Holding Company. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 655 15th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20005.
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Foxconn, UBTech Announced Strategic Cooperation on Humanoid Robots - Pandaily
Description: Foxconn and UBTECH announced that they will establish a comprehensive long-term strategic partnership on the application of humanoid robots in the field of intelligent manufacturing.
Essential components of smart cars can be used to create high-tech factory workers UBTech's humanoid robots work on the production line in Zeekr's smart factory in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, on March 1. ï¼CHINA DAILYï¼ Automakers are ramping up investments in the humanoid robotics field, a frontier where industry experts see an alignment with manufacturing. Technological advancements and real-world testing are anticipated to initiate the large-scale use of humanoid robots in automotive production and related industrial sectors. GAC revealed its third-generation humanoid robot, GoMate, on Wednesday, which has been used for tasks such as security inspections. Future applications foresee its role in vehicle production lines and after-market services. Zhang Aimin, head of GAC's robotics team, said automakers possess a technological edge in developing humanoid robots due to their technological and supply chain synergies with intelligent new energy vehicles. Essential components such as chips, LiDAR and visual sensors can be used in robotics, while vehicle production facilities and 4S stores offer potential for deploying these products, Zhang added. He emphasized that all core functional components of GoMate are developed in-house. GAC plans to launch global sales of its self-developed components this year, while GoMate is expected to start small-scale production in 2026, followed by gradual expansion to mass manufacturing. XPeng Motor revealed its robot, Iron, in November, which adopts a humanoid structure design, with a height of 178 centimeters and a weight of 70 kilograms. The robot works in XPeng's Guangzhou factory in Guangdong province, where it assembles components for the P7+ sedan. Chery set up a robot tech subsidiary in January and has introduced the humanoid robot Mornine, which works at a Chery 4S store in Malaysia. Some automakers are opting for in-house development, while others are collaborating with established humanoid robotics firms to accelerate deployment. Great Wall Motors announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Unitree Robotics, a prominent player in the robotics market, to integrate robotics into auto production. This partnership aims to advance humanoid robot technology and intelligent production processes. BYD and Geely have collaborated with UBTech, a robotics company whose Walker S series of products are used in multiple vehicle factories. Mercedes-Benz announced in March an investment of tens of millions of euros in the humanoid robot company Apptronik and plans to use humanoid robots at its digital factory in Berlin, Germany. Some 20 global automakers have ventured into the humanoid robot sector so far. Industry experts anticipate that this move will foster substantial integrated development synergies. The auto manufacturing sector, characterized by its complex, standardized and capital-intensive workflows, provides an ideal testing ground to accelerate robot development. The advantage of humanoid robots lies in their high flexibility and freedom, with potential applications in assembly workshops and other areas requiring precision operations. An accelerated adoption of humanoid robots also provides opportunities for cost reduction and improved efficiency in vehicle production, experts said. As auto industry competition intensifies with electrification and intelligence, car manufacturers need to explore a new growth curve through AI technology and manufacturing capabilities, they added. A report by Morgan Stanley highlights that China leads the global humanoid robot market, with 52 percent of such companies being Chinese. The market size is projected to surpass 12 billion yuan ($1.64 billion) by 2030. Research by consultancy GGII shows that global humanoid robot sales are expected to reach 12,400 units by 2025, with a market size of 63.39 billion yuan. By 2035, sales are projected to exceed 5 million units, with the market size surpassing 400 billion yuan. But industry insiders say that despite the bright prospects and high added value of the humanoid robot market, the industry is still in its early stages of development. It faces many challenges such as achieving humanlike perception capabilities and addressing the high costs associated with development. Although humanoid robots and AI cars share a 70 percent similarity in their technical stack, XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng said that the data accumulation required for humanoid robots is much higher than that for cars. XPeng has been investing in humanoid robots for five years and may require another 20 years and 50 billion yuan to excel in the field, said He. Humanoid robotics and deeper integration with vehicle manufacturing is expected to become one of XPeng's three strategic growth pillars, he added. Humanoid robots make their way into China's consumer market China ahead in humanoid robots field Tech giants embracing humanoid robots
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Talk: Humanoid Robots – Part 4 – The Last Driver …
Description: We are at the dawn of the age of humanoid robots. To mark the completion of my book “HOMO SYNTHETICUS: How Man and Machine Merge,” (in German) I would like to give a brief insight into the history and current state of the art of humanoid robots. https://youtu.be/-EF1DolqI9w This article was also published in German.
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The Last Driver License Holder… …is already born. How Waymo, Tesla, Zoox & Co will change our automotive society and make mobility safer, more affordable and accessible in urban as well as rural areas. We are at the dawn of the age of humanoid robots. To mark the completion of my book “HOMO SYNTHETICUS: How Man and Machine Merge,” (in German) I would like to give a brief insight into the history and current state of the art of humanoid robots. This article was also published in German. View all posts by Mario Herger Δ
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Talk: Humanoid Robots – Part 3 – The Last Driver …
Description: We are at the dawn of the age of humanoid robots. To mark the completion of my book "HOMO SYNTHETICUS: How Man and Machine Merge," (in German) I would like to give a brief insight into the history and current state of the art of humanoid robots. https://youtu.be/Q1MebEVlk7o This article was also published in German.
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The Last Driver License Holder… …is already born. How Waymo, Tesla, Zoox & Co will change our automotive society and make mobility safer, more affordable and accessible in urban as well as rural areas. We are at the dawn of the age of humanoid robots. To mark the completion of my book “HOMO SYNTHETICUS: How Man and Machine Merge,” (in German) I would like to give a brief insight into the history and current state of the art of humanoid robots. This article was also published in German. View all posts by Mario Herger Δ
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Talk: Humanoid Robots – Part 2 – The Last Driver …
Description: We are at the dawn of the age of humanoid robots. To mark the completion of my book "HOMO SYNTHETICUS: How Man and Machine Merge," (in German) I would like to give a brief insight into the history and current state of the art of humanoid robots. https://youtu.be/DjxkdxsmGwg This article was also published in German.
Content:
The Last Driver License Holder… …is already born. How Waymo, Tesla, Zoox & Co will change our automotive society and make mobility safer, more affordable and accessible in urban as well as rural areas. We are at the dawn of the age of humanoid robots. To mark the completion of my book “HOMO SYNTHETICUS: How Man and Machine Merge,” (in German) I would like to give a brief insight into the history and current state of the art of humanoid robots. This article was also published in German. View all posts by Mario Herger Δ
Images (6):
Talk: Humanoid Robots – Part 1 – The Last Driver …
Description: We are at the dawn of the age of humanoid robots. To mark the completion of my book HOMO SYNTHETICUS: How Man and Machine Merge (in German), I would like to give a brief insight into the history and current state of the art of humanoid robots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQfq8HnDFts This article was also published in German.
Content:
The Last Driver License Holder… …is already born. How Waymo, Tesla, Zoox & Co will change our automotive society and make mobility safer, more affordable and accessible in urban as well as rural areas. We are at the dawn of the age of humanoid robots. To mark the completion of my book HOMO SYNTHETICUS: How Man and Machine Merge (in German), I would like to give a brief insight into the history and current state of the art of humanoid robots. This article was also published in German. View all posts by Mario Herger Δ
Visitors check out a humanoid robot of Chinese tech startup Unitree Robotics during an expo in Beijing in April. (Photo provided to China Daily) In a market accustomed to eye-catching innovations from the likes of Tesla's Optimus and Boston Dynamics' Atlas, the global humanoid robotics industry was recently wowed by a new product from Chinese startup Unitree Robotics. Its surprisingly low price is what sets it apart: 99,000 yuan ($13,700) for its latest G1 humanoid robot. While many robots from other companies are priced from 150,000 to 200,000 yuan, or even into the millions, Unitree Robotics is positioning itself as a very strong competitor in terms of both price and performance, the company said. Last year, Elon Musk suggested that the price of Tesla's Optimus would be around $20,000, claiming that only at this price point could such robots achieve widespread use in the real world. Jensen Huang, CEO of US chip giant Nvidia, recently said in an interview that the future cost of humanoid robots could range between $10,000 and $20,000. According to Unitree Robotics, G1 is about 127 centimeters tall and boasts impressive stability and flexibility, such as 180-degree body rotation and the ability to crack walnuts "barehanded". Despite its smaller size compared to Unitree H1 â a 1.8-meter, 47-kilogram laser-radar-equipped humanoid the company unveiled last year â the G1 is also equipped with advanced technologies, including LiDAR, depth cameras and dexterous hands. Driven by the self-developed large language model UnifoLM, G1 possesses powerful motor capabilities and intelligent learning abilities, allowing for precise object manipulation, Unitree Robotics said. The story behind Unitree Robotics' ability to offer such low prices traces back to its years of experience in developing quadruped robots and its self-developed electric drive technology. "The core components of the G1 joint unit, including the servo motor, reducer and controller, are all independently developed and produced by Unitree," said Wang Qixin, who is in charge of marketing at Unitree Robotics. The development of the G1 took about three months from project initiation to launch â half the time it took to develop the H1 â primarily due to Unitree Robotics' self-developed technology. However, Wang also acknowledged that the reduced size contributed to the lower price. Driven by technological advancements in AI, humanoid robots like Unitree G1 are the hottest topic in the intelligent robotics industry today amid a growing number of Chinese companies that are scrambling to establish a beachhead in the emerging sector. Humanoid robots made at Engineered Arts factory
Description: The Future of Humanoid Robots Powered by AGI Unlocking Fully Autonomous Human-Like Robots for Industry, Healthcare, and Society Discover how AGI is shaping the ...
Description: Just a drone or a humanoid robot for delivering packages? Are we ready for it? Could it lead to trial failures? Can we prove it won’t harm people? If not, the...
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Are humanoid robots the most effective robots we can build?
Description: Many of the most successful and widely adopted robotics programs in manufacturing aren’t humanoid; they’re purpose built for specific tasks and deliver practical value.
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ByNatan Linder, Contributor. We’re already living in a post-humanoid era, with billions being poured into embodied, humanoid robotics right now. According to a 2024 Goldman Sachs report, the market for humanoid robots is projected to reach $38 billion by 2035 and Morgan Stanley anticipates $5 trillion by 2050. From the World Humanoid Robot Games, to Tesla’s Optimus folding laundry and Amazon’s tests of robots that hand-deliver packages, 2025 has seen an unprecedented acceleration in humanoid robotics demos; exciting and impressive, but also fueled by a lot of ‘hype.’ While these headlines are exciting, what if our obsession with humanoid robots is slowing down real progress?It’s a case of Dr. Ian Malcolm’s famous warning come to life: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” The same applies to robotics today. Why are we so intently focused on mimicking the human form? Here’s the problem: the human form is a poor blueprint for automation. Humanoids aren’t the most effective or efficient robots we can build. Even if we solved for the challenges above, why should we limit ourselves, creatively, to the human form factor? Why two arms? Why not four arms?! Why two legs instead of wheels? Our world is built for human bodies, but that doesn’t mean our robots need to take our exact same form. Yes, our human world is built and shaped for human bodies. There is a popular fantasy of $20,000 humanoid robots being mass-produced; suddenly cheaper, owned by the masses, and capable of solving all of our biggest operational problems and (possibly more popular) our household chores.One part of the fascination with humanoid robots reflects our reality: we don’t have enough people interested in factory work. As of March 2025, there were half a million unfilled jobs in manufacturing in the U.S. alone, and the North American manufacturing workforce has declined for decades. The logic follows, if we can’t hire more people, we must build more people to fill these gaps.I also think, in part, our fascination with the humanoid form is ego-driven. As we mechanize our own lives with LLMs and chatbots, we are approaching the uncanny valley. We have entered into that twilight zone between what we know is living and what we know is mechanical – that middle ground where the ‘real’ and ‘unreal’ cross over each other and blend together. Two decades of overhyped automation has proven that robots can’t replace humans at scale. Robots aren’t standalone solutions, they’re components in a larger, interconnected production system. They require integration with workflows, data infrastructure, human supervision, and continuous maintenance. And while one robot might be manageable, scaling to a fleet across lines, shifts, and changeovers remains a complex, unsolved challenge. Robots are tools, not strategies. The real value comes from how they fit into the system around them. Nassim Nicholas Taleb says, “Missing a train is only painful if you run after it.” In other words, if we’re losing the humanoid robotics race to China, maybe we’re chasing the wrong race. If the Western world is already lagging behind China in the global humanoid robotics race, why don’t we modify the ‘rules’ of the game to put us back on track?I think our advantage has always been, and will continue to be: ingenuity. Take a moment to consider the word “engineer”: not as a job title, but in its etymology. It comes from the Latin ingenium—meaning ‘innate talent,’‘clever invention,’ and ‘ingenuity’. At its core, engineering isn’t meant to be rigid execution—it’s about applying human creativity to solve our problems. It’s our human ability to think innovatively, quickly problem-solve, and shift direction without losing momentum.Innovation naturally emerges when people tackle challenging problems in interesting ways. Google, for example, was founded as a digital replacement for the Dewey Decimal system, and now it delivers global access to information in milliseconds. Most innovations aren’t instant breakthroughs; they don’t involve big leaps, but thousands of incremental steps. From an engineering standpoint, humanoid robots don’t yet make practical sense for most businesses. If we’re chasing after sci-fi prototypes and geopolitical milestones, we might be missing that layer of human ingenuity; what could we create now that would serve the same function, but faster, more utilitarian, and energy efficient? When I look at the immediate impact of automation and robotics, I’m most impressed by the robotics companies that are focused on functionality and versatility. Robots don’t need to look human to deliver real value. Many of the most successful and widely adopted robotics programs in manufacturing aren’t humanoid at all; they’re purpose-built for specific tasks, not designed to resemble humans. These systems are succeeding not because they look like humans, but because they solve specific problems with precision and efficiency.If manufacturing jobs are simply too difficult to fully automate with humanoid robots, today’s opportunity for innovation is task automation. If we can build machines to perform tasks, not entire jobs, this can help fill the skills shortage gaps, while also improving conditions and career progression for our frontline operators and engineers.The future of robotics isn’t humanoid, it’s human-driven. The most transformative solutions will come from those who focus less on copying us, and more on complementing us.If it’s an ‘arms’ race, it’s up to us to decide what type of ‘arms’ make the most functional sense.
Rapidly growing market to clock $2.9b in sales revenue in 2024, reach around $46.31b by 2031 A young visitor scrutinizes a humanoid skin texture robot during the 2024 World Internet Conference &Light of Internet Expo in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Nov 19. (TIAN JIANMING/FOR CHINA DAILY) U.S. celebrity Kim Kardashian may have turned heads by taking humanoid robots shopping, but China is quietly revolutionizing the game â by not only weaving robots into daily life, but also driving their industrial applications forward by slashing costs and pushing boundaries. In short, humanoid robots are creating a sensation in China. From UBTech's agile Walker X to Xiaomi's futuristic CyberOne, homegrown creations are making a splash in the market, showcasing China's capabilities by turning sci-fi dreams into "tangible tech". But it is just the beginning. More than 10 Chinese auto giants â including BYD, Chery, and Xpeng â are racing into this futuristic space. BYD, a Chinese leader in new energy vehicles, is building a cutting-edge embodied intelligence lab, focusing on laying the foundation for the next giant leap in humanoid robotics, sources told China Daily. The tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference in December also placed AI Plus initiative front and center, aiming to nurture future industries, including humanoid robots, while strengthening the nation's scientific and technological edge. Xu Xiaolan, former vice-minister of industry and information technology and a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, said humanoid robots are expected to become another "disruptive product" after computers, smartphones and new energy vehicles. "Currently in China, new technologies, products and formats represented by humanoid robots and general artificial intelligence are thriving and becoming the pinnacle of global technological innovation, a new track for future industries and a new engine of economic growth," she said. Market consultancy Coherent Market Insights has forecast that China's rapidly growing humanoid robot market will clock $2.9 billion in sales revenue in 2024, and skyrocket to around $46.31 billion by 2031, at a staggering compound annual growth rate of 48.6 percent. Jiao Jichao, vice-president and executive dean of UBTech Robotics' research department, said: "If we compare the humanoid robotics industry to a marathon, China and Western countries are all within the first 1,000 meters of the starting line." Walker S, the humanoid robot developed by Chinese artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics company UBTech, was the first of its kind in China to carry out full-process handling tasks at an automotive factory. The company also signed a cooperation agreement with Audi FAW and the Beijing Embodied Intelligence Robotics Innovation Center to jointly develop intelligent solutions for humanoid robots earlier this year. The cooperation will drive humanoid robots into automotive production lines for intelligent material handling, quality inspection and process material operations. This is expected to promote large-scale deployment of humanoid robots in car factories. Jiao told China Daily that the company is confident that its humanoid robots will achieve widespread factory applications within three years. "The company aims to deliver humanoid robots in small quantities to industries, especially automobile factories, for handling and sorting tasks, by the end of this year (2024)." China ahead in humanoid robots field Humanoid robots play more roles Tech giants embracing humanoid robots
A robot draws a picture at the ongoing 2024 World Robot Conference in Beijing. (CHEN XIAOGEN/FOR CHINA DAILY) Humanoid robots are expected to usher in a new stage of growth as Chinese tech companies venture into the field to cash in on the immense market opportunities going forward, said experts and business executives. Their comments have come as humanoids took center stage at the ongoing 2024 World Robot Conference, which runs till Sunday in Beijing. According to a report released at the conference by the World Robot Cooperation Organization, humanoid robots will profoundly transform human production and lifestyle, while leading society into a new stage of intelligent development and bringing disruptive changes to various industries. In the industrial sector, humanoid robots will participate widely in hazardous production processes, significantly enhancing production efficiency and safety. They will become a crucial force in executing tasks such as scientific exploration, disaster relief and security inspections in extreme environments, as per the report. Qiao Hong, president of WRCO, said multimodal large language models, which possess the ability to generate text, images, audio and video based on given prompts, will provide humanoid robots with enhanced understanding, perception and decision-making capabilities. Chinese robotics firms are at the forefront of advancements in the development of humanoid robots, achieving significant breakthroughs in both lower and upper limb functionalities, and bolstering the application of cutting-edge robotics technology in the manufacturing sector, industry insiders said. At the conference, UBTech Robotics, a Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based robot developer, is showcasing its industrial humanoid robot, Walker S, which has been applied in car factories to carry out tasks such as intelligent sorting, intelligent quality inspection, and installation of car components. UBTech said in July that it would work with FAW-Volkswagen, one of China's earliest joint venture automakers, to develop highly intelligent and flexible production lines, as well as an unmanned car factory. The collaboration aims to integrate humanoid robots into industrial operations at FAWVolkswagen's factory in Qingdao, Shandong province, where the robots will undertake tasks such as bolt tightening, component assembly and handling automotive parts. Tan Min, chief brand officer of UBTech, said the emergence of humanoid robots will change the way people live and work, and improve production efficiency and people's quality of life. These robots, he added, will not only play a vital role in intelligent manufacturing, but could also be used in fields such as personal services, healthcare and education. China aims to build an innovation system for humanoid robots by 2025, with breakthroughs to be made in several key technologies to ensure the safe and effective supply of core components, according to a guideline unveiled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. By 2027, the country will establish a secure and reliable industrial and supply chain system of humanoid robots, the guideline said. An industry report co-compiled by UBTech and other partners has forecast that the market size of humanoid robots in China will reach some 2.76 billion yuan ($386.7 million) this year and is expected to touch 75 billion yuan by 2029, accounting for 32.7 percent of the global total. Marina Bill, president of the International Federation of Robotics, said about 60,000 industrial robots were installed in China 10 years ago, and it has gone up to 290,000 now. "Hardly any other country in the world has had that quick a development." Bill, who is also the global head of marketing and sales and head of product line software and digital in industrial conglomerate ABB's robotics division, said China is a very important country for robotics, and the company has continuously expanded its footprint here. "Just a couple of years ago, we opened our mega factory in Shanghai where we now have a huge production of robots," Bill said, adding that the company does research and development for global products in China and will work with local suppliers in various areas. Event stresses global ties to spur robots' role Humanoid robots play more roles Tech giants embracing humanoid robots
Description: In a groundbreaking development that signals a major shift in electronics manufacturing, humanoid robots are set to become an integral part of iPhone production...
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Unitree’s new H2 brings “streamlined elegance” to humanoid robotics
Description: Priced just under USD 30,000, Unitree’s H2 reflects a maturing humanoid robotics market where accessibility may determine the winner.
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Written by T. K. Lin Published on 27 Oct 2025 2 mins read Unitree Robotics has unveiled its latest humanoid robot, the H2, a full-sized bipedal machine priced at USD 29,900. The model combines industrial-grade engineering with a refined exterior design that the company describes on its website as “streamlined elegance.” The launch marks a shift in Unitree’s design language. The H2’s head has been reshaped to appear more humanlike, with smoother contours and a bionic facial structure integrated with a dual-eye camera system for stereo vision. According to the company, this redesign aims to balance form and function, positioning humanoid robots as both approachable and efficient. Standing 1.82 meters tall and weighing about 70 kilograms, the H2 features 31 degrees of freedom: six per leg, seven per arm, and three at the waist. Each limb is powered by internal rotor PMSMs (permanent magnet synchronous motors), generating up to 120 newton-meters of torque in the arm joints and 360 newton-meters in the legs. The frame is built from aircraft-grade aluminum, titanium alloy, and high-strength engineering plastics to optimize the strength-to-weight ratio. Power comes from a lithium battery with a capacity of 15 ampere-hours, offering up to three hours of continuous operation. The H2 supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, includes voice interaction via an array microphone and speaker, and offers modular computing options ranging from Intel Core i5 and i7 processors to Nvidia’s Jetson AGX Thor, which delivers up to 2070 TOPS (tera operations per second) of artificial intelligence compute. A variant, the H2 EDU, targets research and academic users. It supports secondary development, customizable compute modules, and includes a 12-month warranty, compared with eight months for the standard version. Beyond its technical profile, the H2 reflects Unitree’s effort to redefine its robotics aesthetic. The company’s “streamlined elegance” initiative emphasizes smoother and more humanlike exteriors, mirroring a broader industry trend to humanize robots designed for social or domestic settings. Whether consumers will favor humanlike designs or prefer more mechanical forms, however, remains uncertain as humanoid robots gradually approach commercial viability. At under USD 30,000, the H2 is among the most affordable humanoid robots on the market, significantly undercutting models from both domestic and international peers. The pricing aligns with Unitree’s broader strategy of accessibility, which has helped it capture an estimated 60% share of the global quadruped robot market through models such as the Go2. Competition, however, is intensifying. In China, Noetix Robotics recently introduced Bumi, a smaller humanoid robot with limited mobility but a lower price of RMB 9,998 (USD 1,400), about one-third the cost of the H2. The expanding range of models underscores how developers are racing to define the next mass market robotics platform—one that combines dexterity, safety, and a design suited to coexist in human environments. Loading... Subscribe to our newsletters KrASIA A digital media company reporting on China's tech and business pulse.
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China Warns of Humanoid Robot Bubble: Could the Global Robotics …
Description: China cautions that the humanoid robot industry may face a bubble, warning of market saturation, funding risks, and potential disruption worldwide.
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The excitement for humanoid robots has reached a fever pitch, but China warned the industry is at risk of a bubble much like the overhyped AI market. It was observed that investments in humanoid robotics from last year have surged, with firms racing to get robots into the workplace and home. However, mass production still seems far away as engineers overcome crucial design challenges: from dexterous hands to full-body control systems that can carry out real-world tasks such as lifting heavy objects or cooking. Li Chao, the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission's spokesperson, recently sounded the alarm about the humanoid robot bubble. She warned that the rapid growth in the sector for humanoid robotics may not be sustainable. She told Bloomberg: "Frontier industries have long grappled with the challenge of balancing the speed of growth against the risk of bubbles — an issue now confronting the humanoid robot sector as well." If a bubble does burst, the consequences could be felt across the global market. Funding might shrink, smaller firms could be merged into larger players or fail, and the roll-out of affordable humanoid robots might slow dramatically. More than 150 companies in China are making humanoid robots. Li said the flood of "highly similar" robot models could saturate the market, narrowing opportunities for truly innovative companies to emerge and dampening research and development. According to Digital Trends, a correction in China's robotics market could temporarily benefit U.S.-based companies as reduced competition and access to cheaper components and talent create new opportunities. However, any advantage may be short-lived as Chinese firms restructure and consolidate, continuing to invest in innovation. This could also make investors more careful about funding new startups in the humanoid robotics space. Companies that hope to enter or expand in this sector will have to demonstrate strong technological differentiation to attract capital. There's no doubt that someday, robotics can even overtake what humans can do. It's evident in their capability. For instance, robot chefs are now taking over Beijing. The future of the food service is futuristic, but we haven't seen the more serious implications of it today. Even Tesla's Optimus robot can spar with you. It can kick and punch like a human kung fu fighter. Originally published on Tech Times
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EconoScope | China leads in humanoid robot sports, powers robotics …
(ECNS) -- From marathons to boxing and football, humanoid robot sports have surged in popularity this year, with China emerging as a global frontrunner and showcasing its cutting-edge robotics capabilities. During the 2025 Spring Festival, a humanoid robot performing traditional Chinese handkerchief tricks went viral online. In April, Beijing hosted the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon, where robots ran a 21-kilometer course. In May, Hangzhou witnessed the launch of the world's first humanoid robot fight. In June, public attention shifted to robot football, or the RoBoLeague Robot Football Tournament, where humanoid robots competed in team matches. These sporting events demand high-level coordination and movement. Boxing requires precise footwork; football depends on balance, speed, and synchronized limb control. Each event reflects rapid advances in motion control algorithms and hardware design. The RoBoLeague tournament also demonstrated a major shift: the robots were no longer remotely operated. Instead, they relied on vision systems and pre-programmed AI strategies to analyze the game in real time and respond dynamically, a leap forward in autonomy. "Compared with remote-controlled sports or pre-set movements, AI-powered football â driven by autonomous decision-making, visual sensors, and multimodal algorithms â is the most promising format for scaling into everyday applications," said Cheng Hao, executive director of the tournament's organizing committee. In the foreseeable future, robots are expected to participate in an increasing number of athletic competitions. This August, the World Humanoid Robot Games will be held in Beijing, featuring 19 events including sprinting, football, long jump, and freestyle gymnastics. Cheng believes that competitive events serve as the best training ground, providing a fast track for advancing algorithms and hardware technologies as well as making technological progress more transparent and visible to the public. He adds that the competitive economy will be a major driving force behind the development of humanoid robotics over the next decade. This year's Chinese government work report mentioned embodied intelligence and intelligent robots for the first time, signaling a strategic push to accelerate development in advanced robotics. According to industry forecasts, China's embodied intelligence market could surpass 1 trillion yuan (about $139.52 billion) by 2031. With strong innovation capabilities and a comprehensive industrial system, China's robotics industry firmly stands in the top global tier. As of July 2024, China boasted more than 190,000 effective robot-related patents, accounting for about two-thirds of the global total according to Xin Guobin, vice minister of Industry and Information Technology, who told the 2024 World Robot Conference in Beijing that China has remained the world's largest market for industrial robots for an 11th consecutive year. Humanoid robots may be grabbing headlines on the sports field today, but experts say their true potential lies off the track â in homes, factories, and service industries. "In the future, humanoid robots will work autonomously and handle generalized tasks," said Wang, founder of robotics firm Galbot. "This is just the beginning of their role as true productivity tools." (By Gong Weiwei) English majors face uncertain future as AI replaces basic skills Can AI be a lifeline for legacy manufacturers? Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and U.S. officials Experts sharpen focus on new frontiers of AI
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Beijing flags humanoid robotics bubble risk as hype intensifies
Description: While China positions humanoid robotics as a future growth engine, officials now fear the market may be overheating.
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From daily news and career tips to monthly insights on AI, sustainability, software, and more—pick what matters and get it in your inbox. Access expert insights, exclusive content, and a deeper dive into engineering and innovation. Engineering-inspired textiles, mugs, hats, and thoughtful gifts We connect top engineering talent with the world's most innovative companies. We empower professionals with advanced engineering and tech education to grow careers. We recognize outstanding achievements in engineering, innovation, and technology. All Rights Reserved, IE Media, Inc. Follow Us On Access expert insights, exclusive content, and a deeper dive into engineering and innovation. Engineering-inspired textiles, mugs, hats, and thoughtful gifts We connect top engineering talent with the world's most innovative companies We empower professionals with advanced engineering and tech education to grow careers. We recognize outstanding achievements in engineering, innovation, and technology. All Rights Reserved, IE Media, Inc. With more than 150 companies racing to build robots, Beijing wants guardrails to prevent duplication and protect long-term innovation. China is racing to lead the future of humanoid robotics, but its top economic planner is now signalling caution. The country’s rapid surge in investment, companies, and prototypes has fueled excitement, yet regulators worry the momentum could outpace reality. Speaking in Beijing on Thursday, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) spokesperson Li Chao urged the industry to grow responsibly. She warned that humanoid robotics must balance fast development with the risk of overheating. Investment has poured into the sector despite limited proven use cases in factories or homes. Li said more than 150 companies in China are now working on humanoid robotics. Over half are either new startups or firms pivoting from other sectors. She cautioned that the rush could lead to repetitive products and stagnation. According to her, “Frontier industries have long grappled with the challenge of balancing the speed of growth against the risk of bubbles — an issue now confronting the humanoid robot sector as well.” The remarks stand out because Beijing has previously positioned embodied intelligence, the technology powering humanoid robots, as a core strategic priority. It is one of six industries listed by the Communist Party as a future driver of economic growth as the country shapes its development roadmap to 2030. The pace of growth has been rapid. In the last two years, major Chinese trade fairs have showcased multiple prototype humanoid robots, often capable of walking, manipulating objects, and performing basic assistance tasks. Many companies have also begun demonstrating robots designed for warehouse logistics, simple production line handling, and customer service roles. Investors and analysts see these demonstrations as proof that the sector is maturing, even if most deployments remain pilots rather than large-scale contracts. Investor interest remains strong. Citigroup expects “exponential” growth in robot production next year as more Chinese firms scale up manufacturing, Bloomberg reported. Corporations are reporting early traction. UBTech, one of the more high-profile players, has announced orders worth more than one billion yuan. Market performance reflects the enthusiasm. The Solactive China Humanoid Robotics Index, which tracks companies in the space, has jumped about 26 percent this year. But despite the confidence, actual adoption is limited. Real-world deployment in factories and consumer environments is still rare, and the timeline for mainstream use remains unclear. Li said authorities will work to prevent a wave of “highly similar” products and protect room for innovation. Regulators plan to improve rules for entry and exit, create more competitive conditions, and support essential research areas. She added that the government will strengthen resources for testing and training facilities and encourage companies to consolidate knowledge and technology. The message is clear – China wants the sector to flourish, but not at the cost of stability. Aamir is a seasoned tech journalist with experience at Exhibit Magazine, Republic World, and PR Newswire. With a deep love for all things tech and science, he has spent years decoding the latest innovations and exploring how they shape industries, lifestyles, and the future of humanity. Premium Follow
Description: Humanoid robotics is entering a new era. Advances in AI, mobility, and automation are fueling rapid development of human-like machines designed to transform labor, logistics, and manufacturing — attracting growing
Description: China’s top economic-planning agency has warned over the risk of a bubble forming in humanoid robotics, in a rare official expression of concern about the booming sector. “Frontier industries have long grappled with the challenge of balancing the speed of growth against the risk of bubbles — an issue now confronting the humanoid robot sector as well,” Li Chao, spokeswoman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said.
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China’s top economic-planning agency has warned over the risk of a bubble forming in humanoid robotics, in a rare official expression of concern about the booming sector. “Frontier industries have long grappled with the challenge of balancing the speed of growth against the risk of bubbles — an issue now confronting the humanoid robot sector as well,” Li Chao, spokeswoman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a briefing in Beijing on Thursday. More than 150 makers of humanoid robots are operating in China and their number is still rising, Li said. The country must prevent a flood of “highly similar” models from overwhelming the market and squeezing out space for research and development, she said. The call for vigilance reflects Beijing’s unease over excess investment flooding into a sector it bills as one of the biggest catalysts for the economy in the years ahead. Humanoid robotics is one of the six industries named by the ruling Communist Party as new economic growth drivers for the future in its guidelines for drafting China’s development plan in the five years though 2030. Citigroup Inc. expects to see “exponential” growth in production next year from China’s humanoid robot makers. But although companies like UBTech report receiving orders worth over a billions yuan, widespread adoption of humanoid robots by households or factories has yet to materialize. The spotlight of attention has fueled investor interest in the sector, sending the Solactive China Humanoid Robotics Index — which tracks the shares of Chinese humanoid robotics-related companies — up by about 26% this year. The authorities will speed up efforts to build mechanisms for market entry and exit to create an environment of fair competition, Li said at the briefing. Among the areas of their focus will be accelerating research and development of core technologies and supporting the construction of training and testing infrastructure, she added. The government will also promote the consolidation and sharing of technology and industrial resources in the sector across the nation, in an attempt to expedite the application of humanoid robots in real life, she said.
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President Trump approved exports of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to approved Chinese customers in exchange for a 25% U.S. surcharge, a move with major market and national‑security consequences. Markets tread cautiously ahead of the Fed: S&P 500 and Dow held near flat while the Nasdaq lagged as AI names wobbled. Bond yields jumped after mixed jobs data, boosting the dollar and pressuring rate‑sensitive sectors. Key catalysts are the Fed decision, Nvidia policy headlines, and volatile crypto moves that are keeping volatility elevated. Trump’s surprise reversal opens the door for advanced Nvidia H200 AI chips to flow to China while U.S. enforcement scrambles to stop illegal exports. The policy shift has market and national-security implications as prosecutors pursue smuggling networks tied to chip rerouting. 25% - Proposed U.S. surcharge on Nvidia H200 chip sales to China. Chinese authorities are preparing curbs on H200 availability even after Washington approved limited exports, signalling Beijing will control domestic access. The tug-of-war raises questions about how much practical benefit U.S. approvals will deliver to Chinese AI firms. Brussels opened a formal antitrust probe into Google’s use of online content to train AI, expanding pressure on Big Tech across the continent. Regulators are investigating whether unpaid content use and AI summaries harm publishers and competitors. CVS Health lifted full‑year 2025 guidance and outlined AI upgrades and revenue targets that propelled the stock higher, signalling durable operational improvement. More on wsj.com A bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery heated up as Paramount launched a hostile takeover just days after Netflix struck a deal for parts of the company. The contest threatens to redraw streaming power and invites intense regulatory and political scrutiny. The Supreme Court appears poised to expand presidential removal power, a move that would weaken independent agency protections. Oral arguments suggest a major shift in separation-of-powers precedent is possible. Lucid shares plunged further after a major analyst cut estimates, highlighting persistent demand and profitability challenges in the EV sector. More on benzinga.com A sharply divided Federal Reserve meets amid widespread expectations of a rate cut, but policymakers may signal a pause to follow. Investors are bracing for nuanced guidance that could reshape 2026 rate bets and market positioning. Delayed job‑openings data showed openings steady, sparking volatility in bond markets as yields jumped. Traders are reassessing growth and inflation prospects ahead of the Fed meeting. Commerce moved to allow limited H200 exports to approved Chinese buyers with a proposed 25% U.S. cut; the EU opened new antitrust probes into Big Tech AI training practices; federal courts struck down an executive ban on wind‑project permits. Bitcoin popped into the mid‑90k range ahead of a widely anticipated Fed move, underscoring crypto’s sensitivity to macro catalysts. Traders remain cautious about the durability of gains as policy shifts loom. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated he will not cede territory to Russia, rejecting U.S. pressure to compromise and rallying European support. The firm stance complicates diplomatic efforts and the U.S.-crafted peace framework. Inflation is there and maybe not going down. — Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO Tensions in East Asia escalated after incidents involving Chinese military activity and dangerous radar locks. Regional partners are stepping up deployments and defence projects amid concerns over Beijing’s behaviour. Microsoft unveiled a major push into India and Canada with multibillion-dollar AI and cloud investments to capture fast‑growing demand. The spending ramps up the race among hyperscalers to dominate global AI infrastructure. IBM’s planned acquisition of Confluent marks a big strategic bet on real‑time data streaming to power AI workloads. Investors rewarded the deal with a sharp move in both stocks. Exxon raised its 2030 cash‑flow outlook and shares jumped, even as the company cuts planned low‑carbon investment by a third. The moves underline oil majors’ repositioning as they balance returns with energy transition commitments. Brookfield and Qatar announced a $20 billion joint venture to build AI infrastructure, signaling sovereign wealth’s deepening role in hyperscaler supply chains. The deal underscores Gulf capital’s appetite to fund large-scale datacenter and GPU projects. Air Transat cancelled and suspended flights as pilot strike deadlines loomed, disrupting travel ahead of the holiday season. The airline set contingency measures to repatriate passengers while talks continue. Federal courts struck down parts of the administration’s wind‑energy restrictions, a significant legal defeat for the White House’s environmental policy. Judges ruled the executive action unlawful, restoring momentum for renewable projects. U.S. prosecutors continue an aggressive enforcement push against attempted Nvidia chip smuggling even as export rules shift. Recent detentions and charges underline the complexity of policing high‑value tech flows. The White House unveiled a multibillion farm aid package to blunt damage from tariff-driven trade shocks while signalling tougher trade measures ahead. The move highlights political pressure to shield vulnerable sectors from policy fallout. 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China Humanoid Robotics Index Jumps After Unitree Debuts "Stellar Hunter" …
Description: ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
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Update (ET): The Solactive China Humanoid Robotics Index - a thematic equity index tracking Chinese companies involved in the commercialization of humanoid and robotics technologies - jumped more than 4% on Wednesday after Chinese robotics firm Unitree released a stunning video of its new robot dog. "The main trigger for today's robotic stocks is Unitree's new robot dog. The real application for robot dogs is actually broader than humanoid robots, and they are lighter and easier to enter the market," Fu Zhifeng, chief investment officer at Shanghai Chengzhou Investment Management, wrote in a note to clients. The video and more color about the new robot are below... * * * Chinese robotics firm Unitree, arguably the global leader in affordable consumer-grade quadrupeds and robodogs, has just released footage of its latest machine: the "A2 Stellar Hunter." The new robodog brings flashbacks to Black Mirror's infamous 2017 episode "Metalhead," where killer robot dogs stalk and exterminate humans in a post-apocalyptic world. Overview and specs of the A2 Stellar Hunter: Total weight: ~37kg Unloaded range: ~20km Lighter, Stronger and Faster. Engineered for Industrial Applications. Unitree's robot timeline: Laikago (2017): early public quadruped robot. AlienGo (2019): more advanced and cable‑free version. A1 (2021): education-focused, affordable robot dog (~3.3 m/s top speed). Go1, Go2, and industrial-grade B1/B2, including wheeled variants like Go2-W and B2-W. G1 humanoid robot (2024): ~35 kg, 23–43 joints, priced at ~$16,000. H1 humanoid robot: full-sized with advanced mobility and sensors. R1 humanoid companion (2025): ~$5,900 with acrobatic capability (cartwheels, punches, running) and multimodal Unitree claims it now produces roughly 60% of the world's quadruped robots, leaving U.S. rivals like Boston Dynamics in the dust. With Tesla's humanoid bots expected to scale in the coming years, American consumers may finally get a competitive, homegrown alternative to China's robotics dominance. Unitree Introducing | Unitree A2 Stellar Hunter 🤩 Total weight: ~37kg | Unloaded range: ~20km Lighter, Stronger and Faster. Engineered for Industrial Applications. pic.twitter.com/Rqpa7EkU0B As we've previously pointed out, the "iPhone moment" for robotics is fast approaching, and it's only a matter of time before these machines, infused with large language models, become highly intelligent and potentially weaponized by bad actors. Our coverage focuses on a 'Skynet-like system' materializing in the years ahead: Goldman's Investing Guide To Skynet "Here Come Humanoids": Morgan Stanley Braces For The Looming Phase Shift in AI There's An iPhone Moment Happening With Humanoids "iPhone Moment" Nears For Humanoid Robots China Warns of Rogue Robot Troops Unleashing Terminator-Style "Indiscriminate Killings" . . . Assistance and Requests: Contact Us Tips: tips@zerohedge.com General: info@zerohedge.com Legal: legal@zerohedge.com Advertising: Contact Us Abuse/Complaints: abuse@zerohedge.com Make sure to read our "How To [Read/Tip Off] Zero Hedge Without Attracting The Interest Of [Human Resources/The Treasury/Black Helicopters]" Guide It would be very wise of you to study our privacy policy and our (non)policy on conflicts / full disclosure.Here's our Cookie Policy. How to report offensive comments Notice on Racial Discrimination.
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Tether Invests in Italian Robotics Startup Generative Bionics Amid Humanoid …
Description: The Entire Business World on a Single Page with the Web's Most Comprehensive One-Stop Finance News Hub.
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President Trump approved exports of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to approved Chinese customers in exchange for a 25% U.S. surcharge, a move with major market and national‑security consequences. Markets tread cautiously ahead of the Fed: S&P 500 and Dow held near flat while the Nasdaq lagged as AI names wobbled. Bond yields jumped after mixed jobs data, boosting the dollar and pressuring rate‑sensitive sectors. Key catalysts are the Fed decision, Nvidia policy headlines, and volatile crypto moves that are keeping volatility elevated. Trump’s surprise reversal opens the door for advanced Nvidia H200 AI chips to flow to China while U.S. enforcement scrambles to stop illegal exports. The policy shift has market and national-security implications as prosecutors pursue smuggling networks tied to chip rerouting. 25% - Proposed U.S. surcharge on Nvidia H200 chip sales to China. Chinese authorities are preparing curbs on H200 availability even after Washington approved limited exports, signalling Beijing will control domestic access. The tug-of-war raises questions about how much practical benefit U.S. approvals will deliver to Chinese AI firms. Brussels opened a formal antitrust probe into Google’s use of online content to train AI, expanding pressure on Big Tech across the continent. Regulators are investigating whether unpaid content use and AI summaries harm publishers and competitors. CVS Health lifted full‑year 2025 guidance and outlined AI upgrades and revenue targets that propelled the stock higher, signalling durable operational improvement. More on wsj.com A bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery heated up as Paramount launched a hostile takeover just days after Netflix struck a deal for parts of the company. The contest threatens to redraw streaming power and invites intense regulatory and political scrutiny. The Supreme Court appears poised to expand presidential removal power, a move that would weaken independent agency protections. Oral arguments suggest a major shift in separation-of-powers precedent is possible. Lucid shares plunged further after a major analyst cut estimates, highlighting persistent demand and profitability challenges in the EV sector. More on benzinga.com A sharply divided Federal Reserve meets amid widespread expectations of a rate cut, but policymakers may signal a pause to follow. Investors are bracing for nuanced guidance that could reshape 2026 rate bets and market positioning. Delayed job‑openings data showed openings steady, sparking volatility in bond markets as yields jumped. Traders are reassessing growth and inflation prospects ahead of the Fed meeting. Commerce moved to allow limited H200 exports to approved Chinese buyers with a proposed 25% U.S. cut; the EU opened new antitrust probes into Big Tech AI training practices; federal courts struck down an executive ban on wind‑project permits. Bitcoin popped into the mid‑90k range ahead of a widely anticipated Fed move, underscoring crypto’s sensitivity to macro catalysts. Traders remain cautious about the durability of gains as policy shifts loom. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated he will not cede territory to Russia, rejecting U.S. pressure to compromise and rallying European support. The firm stance complicates diplomatic efforts and the U.S.-crafted peace framework. Inflation is there and maybe not going down. — Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO Tensions in East Asia escalated after incidents involving Chinese military activity and dangerous radar locks. Regional partners are stepping up deployments and defence projects amid concerns over Beijing’s behaviour. Microsoft unveiled a major push into India and Canada with multibillion-dollar AI and cloud investments to capture fast‑growing demand. The spending ramps up the race among hyperscalers to dominate global AI infrastructure. IBM’s planned acquisition of Confluent marks a big strategic bet on real‑time data streaming to power AI workloads. Investors rewarded the deal with a sharp move in both stocks. Exxon raised its 2030 cash‑flow outlook and shares jumped, even as the company cuts planned low‑carbon investment by a third. The moves underline oil majors’ repositioning as they balance returns with energy transition commitments. Brookfield and Qatar announced a $20 billion joint venture to build AI infrastructure, signaling sovereign wealth’s deepening role in hyperscaler supply chains. The deal underscores Gulf capital’s appetite to fund large-scale datacenter and GPU projects. Air Transat cancelled and suspended flights as pilot strike deadlines loomed, disrupting travel ahead of the holiday season. The airline set contingency measures to repatriate passengers while talks continue. Federal courts struck down parts of the administration’s wind‑energy restrictions, a significant legal defeat for the White House’s environmental policy. Judges ruled the executive action unlawful, restoring momentum for renewable projects. U.S. prosecutors continue an aggressive enforcement push against attempted Nvidia chip smuggling even as export rules shift. Recent detentions and charges underline the complexity of policing high‑value tech flows. The White House unveiled a multibillion farm aid package to blunt damage from tariff-driven trade shocks while signalling tougher trade measures ahead. The move highlights political pressure to shield vulnerable sectors from policy fallout. 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Advisers foresee Shanghai as humanoid robotics hub
Humanoid robots line up to greet visitors at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 7. (CHEN YUYU/FOR CHINA DAILY) Political advisers in Shanghai have suggested advancing the industrialization of humanoid robotics in the city, leveraging its strengths in artificial intelligence and robotics. They said Shanghai is well-positioned to lead the large-scale application of humanoid robots in China. Addressing the current challenges the industry is facing in the metropolis, including a lack of core components and reliance on imported key functional parts, members of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference proposed nurturing a high-end industrial chain and supporting collaboration among industry, academia and research institutions to achieve joint technological breakthroughs. The advisers submitted proposals related to the humanoid robotics industry during the ongoing annual sessions of the city's legislative and political advisory bodies, which will run through Saturday. Industry insiders have highlighted the potential significance of humanoid robots in various sectors, including manufacturing, hazardous environments, healthcare, elderly care services and underwater scientific research. For instance, in industrial settings, such robots could enhance work efficiency, particularly in enterprises requiring repetitive tasks with high precision. The robots could function as a tool for doctors in performing precision surgeries, and key parts such as robotic arms could serve as prosthetics, enabling individuals with disabilities to return to normal life and work. In October 2023, Shanghai set a goal to establish itself as a globally influential hub for robotics innovation. The initiative includes creating 10 top-tier robot brands, showcasing 100 bench mark scenarios for robot applications and expanding the value of related industries to 100 billion yuan ($13.63 billion) in the coming years. Political advisers from the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce suggested accelerating research and development in areas such as motors, drivers, sensors and main controller chips for humanoid robots. Another proposal, submitted by advisers from the Shanghai Association for Science and Technology, emphasized the need to bridge gaps in precision, life span and reliability between domestic products and their overseas counterparts. "Local research has made certain advances in motion control processing, environmental perception and decision-making algorithms for human-computer interaction, but further progress is needed to meet diverse needs. Additionally, the intelligence level of machine vision learning models requires improvement," the advisers wrote in a collective proposal. They also recommended that multiple enterprises share resources and establish a data bank containing information on robot actions and knowledge. By building a joint computing power center and developing multimodal large models, enterprises could reduce R&D costs, they suggested. A joint proposal by 12 political advisers highlighted the importance of verifying the characteristics, feasibility and economic value of humanoid robots in various scenarios and creating a detailed list of areas where such robots could have a significant impact. Enterprises could then develop their core technologies accordingly. The advisers outlined a commercialization path for humanoid robots, starting with niche applications and gradually expanding to mass markets. "After being deployed in specific application scenarios, the robots can transition to semi-open environments such as warehousing, retail and catering, performing semi-automated tasks like carrying and distributing items," said Zhang Jianhua, one of the political advisers involved in drafting the proposal. "For the next phase, the robots will be promoted to provide services such as housekeeping support and health management in settings like homes, offices, elderly care facilities and hotels. Eventually, they will be more widely used in daily life and workplaces," said Zhang, who is also vice-president of Shanghai University.
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Humanoid robots could revolutionize robotics industry
Description: In Detroit, entrepreneur Art Cartwright’s humanoid robot went viral after it was captured on video along a busy street. The attention comes as humanoid robot companies attempt to publicize their robots as the next frontier for the robotics industry in Detroit and across the country. NBC News’ Maggie Vespa has a closer look.
Description: Roundhill Investments launches the first U.S.-listed ETF dedicated to the humanoid robotics market, labeled as HUMN. Morgan Stanley forecasts the humano
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China Issues Rare Bubble Warning Forming In Humanoid Robotics | …
Description: ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
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China's top economic-planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), issued a rare warning earlier today about the emergence of bubble conditions in the country's humanoid robotics industry. This warning comes just as Elon Musk is planning to scale production of the Tesla Optimus robot next year. Bloomberg cites comments from NDRC spokeswoman Li Chao, who warned that more than 150 companies and startups are developing nearly identical robots, creating the risk of a classic investment bubble that could trigger a bust cycle and stifle real innovation. "Frontier industries have long grappled with the challenge of balancing the speed of growth against the risk of bubbles, an issue now confronting the humanoid robot sector as well," Li warned. Humanoid robotics has exploded in popularity since Unitree's robot dog with a flamethrower attachment. We've purchased one from an importer (minus flamethrower attachment) to see what all the excitement is about… Taking a look at the Solactive China Humanoid Robotics Index - a thematic equity index tracking Chinese companies involved in the commercialization of humanoid and robotics technologies - is up 28.5% year to date and doubled from 2024 lows. Related: Goldman Finds "Inflection Point" With Humanoid Robots; We Tested Unitree's Robodog Goldman's Chat With Top Robotics Firm Reveals Skynet Humanoid Timeline China Humanoid Robotics Index Jumps After Unitree Debuts "Stellar Hunter" Latest reports: Humanoid Robot Roundup: Tesla Kicks Off Optimus Pilot Production As Goldman Tours China's Supply Chain Humanoid Robot Roundup: Auto Industry Poised To Lead First Wave Of Adoption Citi forecasts the humanoid robot industry could reach $7 trillion by 2050, although mass adoption remains a 2030s story. Assistance and Requests: Contact Us Tips: tips@zerohedge.com General: info@zerohedge.com Legal: legal@zerohedge.com Advertising: Contact Us Abuse/Complaints: abuse@zerohedge.com Make sure to read our "How To [Read/Tip Off] Zero Hedge Without Attracting The Interest Of [Human Resources/The Treasury/Black Helicopters]" Guide It would be very wise of you to study our privacy policy and our (non)policy on conflicts / full disclosure.Here's our Cookie Policy. How to report offensive comments Notice on Racial Discrimination.
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Humanoid Global Provides Update on Agility Robotics
Description: Money Compass is one of the credible Chinese and English financial media in Malaysia with strong influence in Malaysia’s financial industry. As the winner of the SME Award in Malaysia for 5 consecutive years, we persistently propel the financial industry towards a mutually beneficial framework. Since 2004, with the dedication to advocating the public to practice financial planning in everyday life, Money Compass has accumulated a vast connection in ASEAN financial industries and garnered government agencies and corporate resources. At present, Money Compass is adjusting its pace to transform into Money Compass 2.0. Consolidating the existing connections and network, Money Compass Integrated Media Platform is founded, which is well grounded in Malaysia whilst serving the ASEAN region. The mission of the new Money Compass Integrated Media Platform is to become the financial freedom gateway to assist internet users enhance financial intelligence, create wealth opportunities and achieve financial freedom for everyone!
Humanoids of Unitree Robotics at the World Robot Conference in Beijing in August. (CHINA DAILY) When I recently visited Unitree Robotics, a cutting-edge Chinese humanoid robot company in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, I decided to test their creation in a unique way. I volunteered for an experiment â having both the robot and myself standing side by side and pushed over, in order to see who would recover their balance more quickly. To make things even more challenging, I requested to be blindfolded, ensuring I couldn't anticipate the push. The result blew my mind. While I stumbled several steps, struggling to regain my balance, the humanoid robot barely moved, staying almost in place. The level of advancement in Chinese humanoid robotics has been far beyond what I anticipated. Earlier this month, Unitree offered an update on their engineering, showcasing their humanoid robots sauntering down a boardwalk, making their way across uneven terrain and catching up with a human jogger. The company even claimed that the latest robot was "the most agile" humanoid robot so far. Robots are often referred to as the "crown jewel of manufacturing", with humanoid robots considered the pinnacle of achievement in the field. Achieving this level of sophistication means that humanoid robots are becoming more humanlike â and, in some ways, even surpassing human abilities. This evolution holds significant implications, as humanoid robots are expected to play increasingly critical roles in areas like disaster rescue, industrial inspections and high-risk environments that are too dangerous or inaccessible for humans. More importantly, Chinese robotics makers are mass-producing them and make them cheap for common consumers. Unitree G1, priced at 99,000 yuan ($13,600), was released in May. Described as a "humanoid intelligent entity and AI avatar", the G1 is 127 centimeters tall and weighs around 35 kilograms. What sets the Unitree G1 apart is its price point. In comparison, Tesla's Optimus is projected to have a price of $25,000, making Unitree's offering significantly more cost-effective. This pricing strategy could accelerate the adoption of humanoid robots across various industries in China. According to the company, the humanoid robot, priced at 99,000 yuan, which is considered very reasonable, can simulate human hand movements with remarkable precision, making it one of the most affordable options in the market. In addition to the humanoid robots, Unitree also offers the Go2 robotic dog, starting at 9,997 yuan, along with various accessories. The Go2 series has been well-received for its versatility and affordability, making it a popular choice among tech enthusiasts. Rick Xiong, general manager of the Beijing Embodied Intelligence Robotics Innovation Center, said: "These combined efforts will shape the future in our favor. Chinese robot companies have the right timing, the right place and the right people to accelerate the humanoid robot push." Xiong said that leading Western countries have witnessed deep-pocketed industry giants dominating the robot landscape, whereas China is characterized by a proliferation of small to medium-sized enterprises striving to navigate the competitive terrain of humanoid robots. He also said that the rise of artificial intelligence large language models, exemplified by technologies like ChatGPT, has been a game-changer in the robotics industry. Advisers foresee Shanghai as humanoid robotics hub
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Description: Money Compass is one of the credible Chinese and English financial media in Malaysia with strong influence in Malaysia’s financial industry. As the winner of the SME Award in Malaysia for 5 consecutive years, we persistently propel the financial industry towards a mutually beneficial framework. Since 2004, with the dedication to advocating the public to practice financial planning in everyday life, Money Compass has accumulated a vast connection in ASEAN financial industries and garnered government agencies and corporate resources. At present, Money Compass is adjusting its pace to transform into Money Compass 2.0. Consolidating the existing connections and network, Money Compass Integrated Media Platform is founded, which is well grounded in Malaysia whilst serving the ASEAN region. The mission of the new Money Compass Integrated Media Platform is to become the financial freedom gateway to assist internet users enhance financial intelligence, create wealth opportunities and achieve financial freedom for everyone!
Description: AGIBOT reaches its 5,000th humanoid robot milestone as China accelerates its fastest-ever leap in humanoid robotics
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Key Highlights: AGIBOT has officially rolled out its 5,000th mass-produced humanoid robot, marking a major milestone for the company and the broader robotics industry. The achievement reflects years of work in solving key challenges related to robot stability, reliability, and durability. According to Mr. Zhihui Peng, Co-Founder, President, and CTO, the company remains committed to listening to industry partners and delivering practical, general-purpose robots that can be deployed across real-world scenarios. The 5,000 units include a diverse product portfolio: AGIBOTâs humanoid robots are being used commercially in eight major applications, including guided reception, exhibition services, entertainment, intelligent manufacturing, logistics sorting, security inspection, commercial cleaning, data-collection training, and scientific research. These deployments demonstrate how embodied AI can support industrial upgrades, reshape service workflows, and accelerate digital transformation across multiple sectors. The widespread adoption of AGIBOT robots also shows growing global demand for practical humanoid solutions that can integrate into existing business operations. In a separate milestone for the company, the AgiBot A2 humanoid robot has officially entered the Guinness World Records after completing a 66-mile (106 km) walk over three days. The robot began its journey in Suzhou on the evening of November 10, 2025, and arrived at Shanghaiâs Bund waterfront on November 13. The route covered highways, city streets, and various terrains, with the robot following traffic rules throughout the trek. Standing 5 feet 6 inches tall, the A2 model is designed for customer service roles and is equipped with chat interaction features and advanced lip-reading technology. Videos of the walk show the robot navigating alongside cyclists, scooters, and busy urban environments. Chinaâs rapid expansion in humanoid robotics is being driven by major government deployments, rising investment, and growing adoption across non-tech industries. Large contracts are putting humanoid robots to work in border control, logistics, and public-service roles, while new funding is accelerating robots with advanced sensing for delicate, human-like tasks. Automakers are entering the field with plans for prototypes and in-vehicle robots, signaling that robotics is becoming a core industrial priority. National tech fairs are drawing big crowds with agile, performance-ready humanoids, reflecting expanding commercial and consumer interest. With production costs falling and manufacturers preparing massive output increases, China is shifting from experimental showcases to true large-scale deployment, positioning itself as the fastest-moving force in the global humanoid robotics race. Read More: (via)
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Shenzhen-based firm to supply humanoid robots in US$37M deal for …
Shenzhen-based firm to supply humanoid robots in US$37M deal for border management, logistics, and factory patrol trials with testing centre near China's border with Vietnam - Singapore News
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Robotics Revolution: TSLA Leads the Charge with Humanoid Innovations
Description: After its showcase at the World Humanoid Robot Games, Unix AI has been fielding calls from customers eager to adopt its Wanda robots.
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Written by 36Kr English Published on 15 Sep 2025 7 mins read Since the end of the World Humanoid Robot Games, Unix AI’s customer hotline has been ringing nonstop. “In the second week after the competition, more than a dozen hotel clients came to visit us,” said Yang Fengyu, founder and CEO of Unix AI. Earlier in August, Unix AI won two gold medals and one silver in the hotel cleaning and guest reception categories of the international event. That success quickly drew the attention of hotels, retirement homes, and other operators exploring service robotics. Both competitions tested robots on generalization, dexterity, and speed. The cleaning task required collecting scattered items in a room as quickly as possible. The reception task involved taking a guest’s suitcase and delivering it to a designated endpoint. Unix AI’s strong performance reflected accumulated experience. Its robots were already deployed in “quasi-consumer” cleaning scenarios, particularly in hotels, where they learned on the job while gathering data. In hotel rooms, they clean, tidy, and remove trash. While still slower than human staff, the relatively high tolerance for error in these settings allows them to work behind closed doors at their own pace, Yang said. He believes the skills honed in such environments will eventually transfer to households, restaurants, cafes, and even fast-food outlets. The company is already in the early stages of small-scale deliveries, with contracts signed with hotel groups, property managers, and retirement communities. Unlike other robotics startups, Unix AI has not pursued the increasingly popular end-to-end VLA (vision-language-action) approach, citing limited training data. Instead, it breaks down tasks into key points and trajectories, then applies imitation learning. With only a small number of demonstrations, its robots can master new movements. Once deployed in real-world settings, they continue to refine themselves through a self-reinforcing data flywheel. Yang, born in 2000, studied computer science at the University of Michigan and later began a PhD in the same field at Yale University before pausing his studies in 2024 to establish Unix AI. “Over the past two decades, hardware has been dominated by Chinese companies,” Yang said. “With China’s supply chain and market advantages, I saw an opening.” During his conversation with 36Kr, Yang also shared updates on the company’s yet-to-be-released third generation of its humanoid robot, Wanda. The following transcript has been edited and consolidated for brevity and clarity. Yang Fengyu (YF): As soon as the competition ended, our hotline was flooded. In the second week alone, more than ten hotel clients visited our facilities. Although our work-oriented events didn’t draw much attention onsite—we didn’t even make it onto the big screen—the results generated interest among potential clients. The preparation also improved our robots’ capabilities. For example, the reception event required robots to lift a suitcase onto a luggage cart and then push it to a designated spot. The challenge was that the pulling direction didn’t always align with the robot’s forward motion, creating multiple hardware issues. We spent more than a month iterating on hardware before the task was removed, but the process made our robots stronger. YF: Hotel cleaning is what we consider a “quasi-consumer” skill. Once robots master cleaning, tidying, and trash collection in hotels, those atomic actions can be transferred to homes, restaurants, or retirement facilities. Hotels also generate valuable data. Unlike industrial sites, which restrict access for confidentiality reasons, hotels allow us to feed cleaning data back into our models. They also offer higher tolerance for mistakes, since robots often work behind closed doors with less human interaction risk. YF: Exactly. The cleaning competition simulated a hotel room where robots had to pick up scattered bottles and boxes, which our robots already handled well. They can also take on more complex tasks, such as removing trash bags, making beds, or cleaning bathrooms. YF: We’re taking reference from Tesla. First, deploy enough robots in real-world scenarios. Then use a data flywheel to build scale. This lowers the training threshold. We don’t even need algorithm engineers. Deployment engineers can manage it. Just as scaling laws in large language models show how data quantity drives breakthroughs, I believe embodied intelligence can achieve the same. But it depends on how you scale. Data diversity is more important than volume. I’d rather have one billion naturally distributed data points than a curated handful. The only way to gather natural data is through real-world deployment, not staged collection. Scale is equally critical. In multimodal AI, training requires data in the billions. In autonomous driving, even with clean data, you need at least hundreds of thousands of cars to approach Level 4 performance. Robotics will need a comparable scale. Without tens of thousands of robots in the field, you can’t build a robust model. YF: Closing a door is inherently difficult as it involves hinges, body angles, and handle manipulation. At the venue, we discovered the door was a meter wide, larger than the 75–80 centimeters we had trained for, which broke our dual-arm closing strategy. That night, we used virtual reality (VR) equipment to capture new data and retrained the skill. The next morning, we were first up, with no chance for further adjustments. Fortunately, we succeeded. Our imitation learning platform, UniFlex, was crucial. It can learn a new task from just five to ten demonstrations. YF: It’s a perception-operation decoupled model based on key-point imitation learning. We break actions into key points and motion trajectories and learn them in topological space. It’s related to approaches like DMP (dynamic movement primitives) and VMP (variational movement primitives), which are less discussed today but are seeing a resurgence with large models. With just a few demonstrations, a robot can generalize to similar tasks, such as closing different doors even when the handle’s design or position changes slightly. YF: In the long run, I believe in the VLA approach. But for now, with limited robot data, end-to-end VLA isn’t practical. YF: Tactile sensing is crucial. Our UniTouch system fuses vision and tactile data to improve material recognition and contact feedback, enabling more humanlike handling. Unlike VTLA, which compresses multiple modalities into a latent vector, we integrate tactile signals directly into our key-point framework. This enables robots to “imagine” how an object should feel based solely on visual input. YF: Not yet. The challenge is balancing density, durability, and cost. A single high-precision tactile sensor for one finger costs RMB 6,000–8,000 (USD 840–1,120), wears out quickly, and makes grippers bulkier. The cost-benefit ratio isn’t there yet. YF: This year marks the beginning of mass production in robotics. Hardware stability is paramount. YF: Three reasons. First, suppliers are too slow, while in-house development gives us control. Supplier solutions also create black boxes, complicating debugging. Second, cutting out middlemen reduces costs. Instead of buying a harmonic reducer for RMB 1,000–2,000 (USD 140–280), we use our own design, which is cheaper even for an entire joint. That’s why we can price our second-generation Wanda robot at RMB 88,000 (USD 12,300) and still maintain healthy margins. Third, data consistency. If hardware isn’t made in-house, data from different robot generations may be incompatible, rendering models useless. The hardest part is supply chain stability and quality control, which we’ve been focused on all year. YF: The third generation is designed purely for work. It’s less humanlike in appearance but more powerful, with omnidirectional wheels, higher load capacity, and better height control. But the unit we showcased was still experimental. It was fresh from assembly when we sent it to the World Robot Conference and then the games. Its algorithms weren’t fully tested, but the results were promising. The second-generation Wanda is stable, already in mass production, and served as our backup. YF: Being born after 2000 doesn’t mean much to me. What matters is that young entrepreneurs in embodied intelligence aren’t bound by old ways of thinking. I come from a technical background. I write code myself, so I know what works and what doesn’t. This is a technology-driven field, and young people are the driving force. YF: I’ve always wanted to start a company. I also studied finance and business. My PhD advisor is also an entrepreneur, and he encouraged me. In academia, you often create problems to solve problems. I prefer tackling real-world issues. Over the past two decades, hardware has been dominated by Chinese companies. With China’s supply chain and market advantages, I saw an opening. YF: It’s about complementarity. A group of veterans working together will still follow veteran playbooks. We bring energy and sensitivity to the frontier of technology. The veterans bring industry experience and resources. Together, the combination creates powerful chemistry. KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Fu Chong for 36Kr. Loading... Subscribe to our newsletters KrASIA A digital media company reporting on China's tech and business pulse.
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