Will middle-class families spend tens of thousands of yuan on a companion robot?

Text by | Wang Fangyu

Edited by | Su Jianxun

At the WRC (World Robot Conference) held in early August, a certain category of robots attracted great attention from family users at the venue.

In the exhibition areas of VitaPower and LeXiang Intelligence, the family users, especially children, who came to the exhibition surrounded the robot booths tightly. They either took photos, reached out to touch the robots, or called out their names loudly, showing great enthusiasm for these “new species.”

The products of the two manufacturers are different. VitaPower's exhibit is a four - legged robotic dog with a round shape; LeXiang Intelligence's exhibit is a tracked robot that looks very similar to WALL·E, the protagonist in the movie “WALL - E.”

Image source: VitaPower official account

What they have in common is that they are both targeted at the consumer (C - end) market, with cute - looking designs. Their product sizes are between desktop - sized small robots and full - sized humanoid robots. Although they can't help users with housework, they have functions such as intelligent following, carrying things, and taking photos.

In addition to VitaPower and LeXiang Intelligence, Wang Tao, a former overseas executive of XPeng Motors, and Yang Shuo, a former member of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot team, have also targeted this market:

The first product that “Shentingji,” founded by Wang Tao, is developing is also a consumer - grade robotic dog.

According to the investor of “Miaodong Technology” founded by Yang Shuo, its first product is a small household - grade humanoid robot.

A senior hardware investor classifies this niche track as “consumer - grade household robots.” In addition to their specific shapes and sizes, the prices of these robots are generally in the range of tens of thousands of yuan. Although they are not targeted at the general public, they are not as expensive as humanoid robots, which are out of reach for family users.

Yu Yinan, the founder of VitaPower, envisions the usage scenario of his robot products as follows: When a family goes on an outing in the suburbs, VitaPower's robotic dog will jump out of an Ideal L9, follow the owner, help carry heavy loads, and record the wonderful moments of the family's outing.

Shentingji focuses on the overseas market. Wang Tao refers to the target group as “Silicon Valley old boys,” that is, men aged 30 - 50 who work in Silicon Valley's technology giants (such as senior programmers and product directors) and like to explore new technological things.

Currently, the manufacturer that has made the fastest progress among these companies has completed the styling design, and the prototype has also been officially unveiled.

It is expected that by the end of this year, consumer - grade robots will be officially on sale and enter households.

The technology of To B robotic dogs is also applicable to To C

Why did the former executives of large companies unanimously choose the niche track of consumer - grade household robots when starting their businesses?

An investor told us that the rising popularity of this track is closely related to the hot sales of Unitree's robotic dogs.

Combining the advantages of China's supply chain, Unitree Technology has made delicate designs in the overall structure of the robots, greatly optimizing the cost and practicality of the robots and accelerating their popularization.

Currently, Unitree's robotic dogs account for 70% of the global market share of four - legged robots. Although they are positioned for industrial and scientific research scenarios, Unitree's robotic dogs not only help with inspections in overseas factories and mining areas but are also widely used by internet celebrities and bloggers to shoot creative videos.

On video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, a large number of internet celebrities and self - media bloggers take their purchased robotic dogs out to “show off,” greet people, and interact with real pet dogs. Their videos often attract a large amount of traffic and attention.

The American internet celebrity “Hyperthyroidism Brother” with Unitree's robotic dog GO 2     Image source: Internet screenshot

ZhiYuan Robotics just released its first four - legged robotic dog, D1 Ultra, in July this year. Although it is positioned for special and industrial applications, ZhiYuan has noticed its potential in the consumer market.

Yao Maoqing, a partner of ZhiYuan Robotics, said in an interview with “Intelligent Emergence”: “Currently, four - legged robots are relatively mature products with relatively low cost and good stability. They can be used for personal companionship, patrolling overseas, and guarding homes. We have received a lot of demand signals from the market.”

In terms of cost, in the past few years, a large number of companies engaged in the manufacturing of robot body hardware have emerged in China. The fierce market competition has led to a continuous reduction in hardware costs, continuous optimization of performance, and a significant increase in the availability of hardware.

Taking the Unitree Go2 Air version launched in 2023 as an example, the entry - level Unitree robotic dog now costs less than 10,000 yuan. The relatively affordable price makes it more acceptable to individual consumers, laying the foundation for entering consumer households.

Realizing that “the technology of robotic dogs is already mature, while there are unmet needs in the consumer market,” Wang Tao, the founder of Shentingji, and Yu Yinan, the founder of VitaPower, have both positioned the direction of their first products as automatically accompanying household robotic dogs.

VitaPower's robotic dog     Image source: Photo taken by the author

The realization of general embodied intelligence is still a long way off. However, the idea behind consumer - grade household robots is: instead of waiting for robots to learn to sweep the floor, cook, and wipe the tables, they use the relatively mature embodied intelligence technology to create value first and achieve results along the way.

Wang Tao divides embodied intelligence into three aspects: autonomous mobility, voice interaction, and intelligent operation.

In his opinion, just the first two aspects can constitute a relatively complete household robot product, which can achieve functions such as intelligent following, helping you carry things, and taking photos.

Can the middle - class's large “toys” become popular?

Although Unitree's four - legged robotic dogs have a certain degree of market acceptance in the consumer market, their sales performance is mediocre. Their products are mainly designed for industrial and scientific research scenarios. They not only have an industrial - style appearance but usually also need to be controlled by a remote controller, which makes it difficult for household users to use them.

To lower the usage threshold of robots and adapt to the mass market, the first thing that comes to the minds of the newly - entered startups is to get rid of the remote controller.

“Intelligent Emergence” learned that the robotic dogs of Shentingji and VitaPower both adopt a VLA technology solution similar to high - level assisted driving, with environmental perception and autonomous mobility capabilities. They can achieve intelligent accompaniment without relying on high - precision maps.

At the same time, to maximize the autonomous mobility ability of the robots' VLA, they have defined the target scenario as outdoor scenarios, and their promotional slogans are all about being the user's outdoor partners or little followers.

Compared with robotic dogs used in industrial and scientific research scenarios, their product definitions and functional designs are more consumer - oriented. Judging from the publicly available product information, both startups have made special designs for consumer - end consumers, such as more attractive and amiable appearances, and more diverse emotional expressions and interactions.

Although they may be mistakenly considered by the outside world to be the same type of products as Unitree's robotic dogs, the manufacturers that have entered the market generally believe that they are defining a future embodied intelligent partner and creating a brand - new household consumption category.

However, precisely because it is a brand - new category, finding the Product - Market Fit (PMF) has become a core proposition.

“Whether it's a robotic dog or a small robot, it's just a large toy for the middle class. Can scenarios such as following, carrying heavy loads, and taking photos justify people spending more than 10,000 yuan on it?” an investor asked “Intelligent Emergence.”

The investor believes that since the functions are not as essential as doing housework, consumer - grade household robots usually have a certain degree of ostentation, and the demand is highly uncertain. Although the target customer group has high incomes, it is relatively niche, and it is easy to become a niche market.

Reflected in the primary market, although consumer - grade household robots have a certain degree of popularity, they are less recognized by investment institutions than humanoid robots and are a relatively niche choice.

It is worth mentioning that Dao Fang, the former head of Taobao Live, once chose consumer - grade household robots as the first direction after leaving his job to start a business. However, after in - depth research, he concluded that “this direction is still in its early stage, there is no general - purpose blockbuster product, and it is difficult for the team to give full play to its advantages.”

Finally, Dao Fang chose another entrepreneurial direction.

However, in the long run, price will be another key variable affecting the sales volume and market acceptance of such products.

Currently, VitaPower, Shentingji, and LeXiang Intelligence have not yet announced the prices of their products. Based on the product cost, it can be roughly estimated that the prices will be in the range of 10,000 yuan, which is not targeted at the general public. However, with the increasing degree of localization of components and the enhancement of the scale effect, the cost reduction of the domestic robot industry chain is happening rapidly.

A person in charge of Unitree Technology once publicly stated in an interview that there is no problem for the price of four - legged robots to drop to 3,000 - 4,000 yuan in the future. This means that the target audience of consumer - grade robots will continue to expand, and it is not far from entering ordinary households.

Wang Tao made an indirect comparison between consumer - grade robots and DJI's drones. The latter turned the once - professional aerial photography technology into a consumer - grade product that everyone can use. He believes that consumer - grade robots are also expected to replicate this process.

“I believe that in the future, consumer - grade robots can also achieve a moderate price and enter thousands of households. This is a blue - ocean market,” Wang Tao said.