Even robots have 4S stores.

4S stores, Horizon chips, Hesai lidars, EVE Lithium Energy batteries... Where on earth have I been brought to?

The World Robot Conference (WRC) opened, and tens of thousands of people came in the rain. As soon as I entered, these familiar names and products greeted me, instantly filling me with confusion:

Has the 2026 Beijing Auto Show opened ahead of schedule?

Of course, when compared with an auto show, there are still some differences. The forms of robots at the WRC are more diverse.

Mechanical arms are everywhere, and robotic dogs are all over the place.

Some "dogs" even have heads:

Humanoid robots even "have heads and faces":

They can play mahjong, football, chess with you, give you massages, play the piano, assist in rehabilitation training, carry bricks, make coffee, conduct emergency rescues, make Chinese crepes... In short, there's nothing that silicon-based life can't do that carbon-based humans can think of.

However, the differences in form are only superficial. From the perspective of the supply chain and after-sales market, robots and intelligent vehicles have more and more in common, and even share the same pain points.

There are even insurance and 4S store after-sales services... So, what's the current development level of embodied intelligence?

Why are these exhibition booths so crowded that you can hardly move?

Undoubtedly, the booth with the largest number of visitors in the exhibition hall is Unitree. During a boxing match with two small robots participating, the crowd surrounded the area three - deep.

Besides Unitree, several other booths also had large crowds. Especially during the demonstration sessions, it was as crowded as the evening rush hour in Beijing, and you could hardly move. The (co -)founders behind these manufacturers share a common feature:

They all have backgrounds in intelligent vehicles/autonomous driving.

For example, Vita Power. Its founder and CEO, Yu Yinan, was previously the president of Horizon's intelligent driving product line. Co - founders Song Wei and Zhao Zhelun were previously the chief architect of Horizon's software platform and the product director of Li Auto respectively.

△ From left to right: Song Wei, Yu Yinan, and Zhao Zhelun

They started their business last year and quickly launched a product, a household robotic dog that kids are eager to touch and smile at.

From this interaction, it's obvious that it's very different from the robotic dogs wandering around the exhibition hall. It is "intelligent and perceptive".

Having a head is just an appearance. On top of its head is the JT16 lidar specially designed by Hesai for robots, which combines two cameras to achieve 360 - degree fusion perception. Its face is a small electronic screen, and the expressions on the screen change according to the "dog"'s movements.

Being intelligent is the essence. In the past, many robotic dogs needed to be controlled by a remote control, but this "dog" doesn't. It can actively sense the environment, make decisions, accompany you for a walk, and even take photos for you.

The underlying computing power solution for its "brain" is the S100P from Sweet Potato Robotics (formerly the Robotics Division of Horizon), with a maximum computing power of up to 128 TOPS.

It is expected to be officially launched in the fourth quarter of this year. It is said that the price is "affordable for family users", and even kids can buy it if they save up their lucky money.

Then there's Zhipingfang. Its founder and CEO, Guo Yandong, was the chief scientist of XPeng Motors in the early years and founded Zhipingfang in 2023.

The main exhibit of Zhipingfang this time is Aibao, which is versatile. For example, it can play the drums.

It can also make ice cream.

It can also do heavy work, like moving boxes.

This is not just a simple demo. Aibao has really started working in a factory and has withstood the test. Its workplace is DFAC Liuqi.

Why is Aibao so versatile? Behind it is its self - developed all - domain and whole - body VLA large model GOVLA (Global & Omni - body Vision - Language - Action Model), which can drive the robot to coordinate all parts of its body, including both arms, dexterous hands, and the chassis, to understand and execute multi - step tasks.

Next is Zhujidongli, founded by Zhang Li, the former COO of WeRide. Two products were exhibited on - site. One is the bipedal robot TRON 1, which can adapt to different terrains and can be used for scientific research based on its development.

The other is the humanoid robot LimX Oli, which was shown in both full - body and half - body forms on - site and can swing flexibly through remote operation with VR equipment.

Finally, there's Xinghaitu. Its founder and CEO, Gao Jiyang (in the picture below), was involved in perception R & D at Waymo in the early years and later worked at Momenta. In September 2023, he founded Xinghaitu with his colleagues from his Waymo days, Zhao Xing and Li Tianwei, a former senior director at Momenta.

The product exhibited by Xinghaitu at this event is the R1 Pro, with a smooth response in remote - controlled grasping.

These players, with experience in the implementation of physical AI, have switched from the intelligent vehicle field to participate in the construction of a new physical AI ecosystem.

Exploding demand and the emerging ecosystem

The demand side of embodied intelligence is experiencing explosive growth, accelerating the entry of the intelligent vehicle supply chain and cultivating the robot after - sales market. The ecosystem is starting to improve.

According to Wang Xingxing, the founder and CEO of Unitree Technology, the average growth rate of the industry in the first half of this year was between 50% and 100%. "The growth is extremely astonishing and rare." It is expected that the annual shipment volume of humanoid robots across the industry will double in the next few years. If there are greater technological breakthroughs, the annual shipment volume could reach up to one million units.

Unitree presented the robot R1 priced at 39,900 yuan at this conference, significantly reducing the price and making humanoid robots more affordable for more people.

The strong demand has driven the development of both the upstream and downstream sectors.

First, in the upstream supply chain, the two leading lidar companies, Hesai Technology and RoboSense, both demonstrated their robot solutions. Among them, Hesai exhibited two products:

JT128 and JT16.

The JT series is a product line specially designed by Hesai Technology for robot scenarios, with a maximum of 256 lines in the vertical direction. The numbers represent the number of lines. JT128 means 128 lines, and the JT16 used by the Vita Power robotic dog mentioned earlier has low power consumption and is lightweight, making it suitable for consumer - grade products.