Humanoid robots are "making a splash at exhibitions": mass production is easy, but application is difficult.
As large AI models penetrate all industries like a prairie fire, embodied intelligence, as an important implementation carrier, is becoming the "star" at technology exhibitions in the guise of a "real - life Iron Man".
On June 18, the 2025 Mobile World Congress (hereinafter referred to as: MWC25 Shanghai) kicked off in Shanghai. Various humanoid robots also showed their unique skills. The latest product of Zhipu Robotics, Lingxi 2X, performed an "inner monologue" dialogue on - site; Fourier Robotics interacted with the audience by making a heart - shaped gesture; humanoid robots from Unitree, Leju and other companies walked among the exhibition stands... The competition of these algorithms and capabilities turned the exhibition into a "super show - stage" for humanoid robots in an instant.
Notably, the 2025 World Robot Contest made its first "appearance" at the exhibition site. Through robot programming and confrontation competitions, it aims to cultivate the strategic division of labor and hands - on practical abilities of young participants, and reserve technological talents for the future development of embodied intelligence.
When the sparks of technological breakthroughs meet the infinite creativity of teenagers, an industrial revolution regarding human - machine collaboration and intelligent upgrading is accelerating.
From communication technology, to the communication world
Humanoid robots have always been the most eye - catching presence at technology exhibitions.
Early in the morning, the Zhipu Robotics exhibition stand was already crowded with visitors. Yuanzheng A2 held a writing brush and wrote the character "Fu" stroke by stroke; Lingxi X2 not only interacted with the audience in the "inner monologue" mode but also performed a set of Taijiquan for the audience. Behind these capabilities lies both Zhipu's innovative construction of the model architecture and the support of communication technology.
Zhipu has created a software - hardware technical architecture of "body - cerebellum - brain", enabling humanoid robots to achieve motion intelligence, interaction intelligence, and operation intelligence. "We built some basic abilities, such as limb movement, into the body and cerebellum, so that the robot can still perform basic operations even when the network is disconnected," Qiu Heng, the Chief Operating Officer of Zhipu Robotics, told a reporter from IT Times. The "brain", as the key to the wisdom of humanoid robots, is constructed by a cloud platform + embodied algorithms, and communication technology is applied in it. "With the support of communication technology, it's like equipping the humanoid robot with a mobile phone that can obtain information in real - time. After connecting to the network, it can gain more wisdom, and some complex problems will be handled by the cloud, making the interaction more 'intelligent'."
After having these capabilities, humanoid robots will enter communication scenarios. Multiple robots under Zhipu, such as Yuanzheng A2, Jingling G1, and Lingxi X2, will enter scenarios like exhibition halls, business halls, and machine rooms, bringing a robot - service experience to the communication industry.
It is reported that Yuanzheng A2 is a general - purpose humanoid robot designed for interactive services. It can achieve autonomous movement and multi - round voice conversations in complex environments. After strengthening the learning of information such as packages, fees, and policies through a customized business knowledge base constructed by RAG (Retrieval - Augmented Generation) technology, Yuanzheng A2 can become a qualified "salesperson", providing accurate guided explanations and marketing scripts.
In the mobile communication industry, the safe operation of communication machine rooms and data centers is the "lifeline" of operators. Zhipu's Jingling G1 has functions such as intelligent inspection, dynamic environment monitoring, emergency operation, and asset inventory. It can replace humans to complete 24 - hour inspection work in indoor scenarios such as communication machine rooms, data centers, and power distribution rooms.
The development of humanoid robots and the communication industry complements each other. Qiu Heng also said that the next - generation communication networks 5G - A/6G and the computing power architecture (edge/terminal) are building infrastructure for the "nerves" and "brain" of the intelligent world. At the same time, as a physical carrier that integrates all underlying technologies and performs complex tasks in the human environment, the demand generated by humanoid robots in application scenarios such as elderly care, high - risk operations, and flexible manufacturing will in turn promote the innovation of network, computing power, perception, and AI technologies.
Stacking "small scenarios" into a "big world"
"Help me sort the fruits and bread on the dining table." At many exhibition sites, reporters have seen humanoid robots that can accurately recognize this command and complete the operation. However, in real life, fruits may not be on the dining table; they could be in the refrigerator or sink. At this time, if you ask the humanoid robot to pick up the fruits, the accuracy of execution will be greatly reduced, or it may even be unable to execute the task.
Behind the logical judgment of "where the fruits might be" is the humanoid robot's cognitive level of the physical world. Therefore, the world large - model has become the key to be broken through in the development of humanoid robots.
"I think the development of humanoid robots has three stages: anthropomorphic, human - like, and super - human. Currently, humanoid robots are still in the stage between 'anthropomorphic' and 'human - like'." In Qiu Heng's view, reaching the "super - human" stage is the grand vision of the embodied - intelligence industry, and the world model is essential. To enable humanoid robots to independently recognize the physical world, it is necessary to connect individual "small worlds".
For example, when a humanoid robot works as a salesperson in a 4S store, it not only needs to do a good job in consulting services but also provide emotional value to buyers, so that buyers will have the intention to buy a car. This is the recognition of the "small world" of 4S - store sales. If this logic is applied to scenarios such as business halls and exhibition halls, the humanoid robot's recognition of the entire "sales world" can gradually form, and ultimately achieve the recognition of the physical world.
However, it is not easy to connect and thoroughly understand a "small world". It is necessary to break through many technical problems such as safety, emotion, ethics, interaction, perception, energy, standards, and cost.
Jiang Lei, the Chief Scientist of the National - Local Joint Innovation Center for Humanoid Robots, once said at the "Forum on High - Quality Development of the Humanoid Robot Industry" that currently in the humanoid - robot industry, 1X, invested by OpenAI, is "good at grasping"; Tesla's Optimus is "well - trained"; the general - purpose ability of the robot brain of Physical Intelligence is good, but no enterprise has integrated these four abilities into one product yet.
"The 'four - in - one' ecosystem has not been fully established. It is difficult to apply the mass - produced products, which is also a challenge that needs to be overcome in building the world model of humanoid robots."
Out of the laboratory, from the marathon to the fighting competition
Facing the challenge of building a four - in - one world model, regions across the country are going all out. They are using competitions to showcase the existing capabilities of humanoid robots and strive to evolve the "walking, running, and jumping" abilities into scenarios such as home applications and commercial services.
On May 29, the 2025 International Humanoid Robot Skills Competition was held in Shanghai. Universities such as Tsinghua University, Beihang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Fudan University; humanoid - robot enterprises such as Fourier Intelligence, Kepler, and Zhipu Robotics competed in skills such as material - box handling, garbage cleaning, clothing sorting, and parts handling in simulated scenarios such as industrial, home, commercial, and innovation.
Core components such as integrated joints, sensors, and electronic skins are also continuously improved and innovated in the competitions. Hangzhou enterprises represented by Unitree Technology held a mech - fighting ring competition at the "CMG World Robot Contest - Series" on May 25, which mainly tested the robustness of the motion - control ability of humanoid robots.
From the competition process, it can be seen that although the "robustness" of the robot body enables it to maintain stability, not malfunction due to falling or being hit on the ground, and can stand up independently within a few seconds through a dynamic - balance algorithm, being remotely controlled by humans also reflects the lack of real - time perception and decision - making abilities of the humanoid robot's "brain".
Beijing, the permanent host of the World Robot Conference, has also accelerated its layout this year. The humanoid - robot marathon event has attracted the attention of the industry. At the same time, the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center in Yizhuang has basically formed an embodied industrial - chain system covering core components, complete machines, and application scenarios. Since June, the mass - production of "Jingchu" humanoid robots in Wuhan, Hubei Province, has been launched, and they are expected to "take up their posts" one after another in the third quarter of 2025; Chengdu has also launched the first - batch of real - scene verifications of intelligent robots, and various "Chengdu - made" robot products have "stepped out" of the laboratory and are being tested in real scenarios in fields such as education, culture and tourism, transportation, and security...
Photos / Fei Feng, IT Times
This article is from the WeChat official account "IT Times" (ID: vittimes), author: Shen Yibin, published by 36Kr with authorization.