China poised for further humanoid robot innovation, commercialization

Robots that are not only able to run, dance and play soccer but can also sort parts in an assembly line, and even participate in a game of mahjong and caress a piano to create music were once fantasies only confined to science fiction, but they now feature in a reality unfolding at the ongoing World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing.

The WRC 2025 showcases rapidly advancing embodied intelligence technology, with humanoid robots as the highlight, demonstrating significant progress achieved globally and particularly in China, while the event also serves to illuminate a wide range of future commercial application scenarios.

Themed "Making Robots Smarter, Making Embodied Agents More Intelligent," the five-day conference that opened on Friday features forums, exhibitions, competitions and networking events -- with over 200 robotics companies from around the world presenting their latest innovations.

Emerging innovations 

Exhibitors at the WRC expo are showcasing the latest humanoid robots along with other varieties such as wheeled robots, collaborative robots, and quadruped or hexapod robotic dogs, as well as newly developed embodied intelligence models.

Unitree Robotics, headquartered in east China's Hangzhou, has brought its latest types of humanoid R1 and quadrupedal A2 robots to this expo. However, the crowd favorite has been a boxing match performed by two latest upgraded GI robots. The mechanical boxers punched and defended like real human fighters, while getting up to continue even after being knocked down.

Boxing robots are displayed at the 2025 World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Marketing manager at Unitree, Liu Jinda, said the boxing demonstration wasn't just for show. "During boxing, multiple joints need to coordinate with extremely fast reaction times. When subjected to external forces, the robots must quickly regain stability and balance. This practice provides valuable experience for developers to improve robotic performance."

In the exhibition area of Galaxea AI, visitors only needed to say "Please make the bed," and its new R1 Lite robot responded by completing the task in a randomly disordered bedroom all by itself.

Galaxea AI chief scientist Zhao Hang noted that the key to embodied intelligence robots lies in their "brain" -- the sophistication of their algorithms. R1 Lite's Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model uses a single end-to-end architecture to achieve precise control from visual perception to its sophisticated joints, enabling it to perform highly complex, long-sequence tasks like making a bed.

At a conference forum, Ni Guangnan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, emphasized that combining robots with AI requires elevating robotic intelligence through "brain-eye-action" coordinated systems -- enabling robots to see, understand and act in the real world.

Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing said that while current robotic hardware is generally sufficient, their AI capabilities still fall far short of industry needs, and developing sufficient embodied intelligence models will be the most critical task for the industry in the future.

Robust development 

China's innovations in embodied intelligence are powered by the robust development of its robotics industry. According to data released at the conference, the country's robotics industry generated nearly 240 billion yuan (about 33.4 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue in 2024.

Guests inaugurate the 2025 World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

In the first half of 2025, industrial robot production in China reached 370,000 units while service robot output hit 8.82 million units, representing year-on-year growth of 35.6 percent and 25.5 percent, respectively. China has also been the world's largest industrial robot application market for 12 consecutive years -- with its share of the world's newly installed robots increasing from 51 percent in 2023 to 54 percent in 2024.

Rev Lebaredian, vice president of Omniverse and simulation technology at NVIDIA, said in a speech at a forum that China boasts the world's largest pool of top-tier graduates in computer science and AI, while holding a distinct advantage in physical-world technology development. This enables the country to produce robots that are both cost-effective and highly efficient -- a capability unmatched by other countries.

Moreover, China possesses not just manufacturing prowess but also the unique ability to deploy robots at scale and iterate rapidly. By deploying robots in real-world applications and collecting operational data, Chinese developers can continuously optimize robotic systems. This closed-loop improvement capability has become an essential requirement for robotics advancement, and China has already enjoyed this competitive edge, he added.

Visitors play football with robots at the 2025 World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

The embodied intelligence sector, notably, is attracting not only AI innovators but also traditional industrial robotics companies. At the 2025 WRC expo, established players like Siasun and Dobot, once focused on robotic arms and autonomous forklifts, deployed humanoid robots at their most visible displays. With decades of industrial application experience, they are injecting new momentum into the application of embodied intelligence technologies.

Diverse application 

At the opening ceremony of this conference, the Chinese Institute of Electronics unveiled 10 most promising application scenarios for humanoid robots, such as automotive manufacturing, petrochemical production inspection, emergency response operations, home services and agricultural production.

The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center showcased the multi-agent and multi-task collaborative capabilities of embodied intelligent robots in industrial scenarios. Some of the robots are responsible for power inspection and others sort parts in assembly lines, while robotic arms in the inspection area automatically identify defective light bulbs.

Several showcased products at the expo have achieved initial commercialization in the medical and elderly care sectors. For example, a six-legged robot dog developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University will provide blind-assistance services as guide dogs at the upcoming 15th National Games this November.

A humanoid robot is exhibited during the 2025 World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 8, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Longwood Valley MedTech, meanwhile, introduced its latest orthopedic surgical robot -- which enables more precise, minimally invasive and safer surgical procedures, reducing surgery time from two to three hours to just 30 minutes. It also minimizes blood loss, accelerates patient recovery, lowers the risk of postoperative complications and cuts medical costs.

Beijing AI-robotics Technology exhibited various wearable exoskeleton robots that can not only help paraplegic individuals stand and walk but also assist the elderly with stair climbing.

Shuai Mei, the company's founder, said these robots detect both the user's walking intent and terrain conditions, and then use AI algorithms to adapt to the ground and gait in real time, thereby providing appropriate assistance. The company has sold around 1,000 units of its medical and elderly care products, which are now in use at over 300 hospitals nationwide.

Wan Gang, president of the China Association for Science and Technology, said at the opening ceremony of the conference that China is intensifying its efforts in this cutting-edge technology and future-oriented industry to spur new consumption, cultivate emerging industries, create jobs, promote economic growth and improve people's lives.