The load limit of robots has been broken by Galaxy Universal.

Today's manufacturing industry is presenting a new challenge.

From factories to warehouses, from energy to advanced manufacturing, unprecedented changes are taking place on the demand side. On the one hand, there are rigid tasks featuring high intensity, heavy loads, and long cycles. On the other hand, there are real - world scenarios with changeable working environments and a shortage of labor.

This is why embodied intelligence is so highly anticipated. Compared with robots that are still in the demonstration and experience stages of making coffee, folding clothes, and boxing, what is more urgently needed at this stage are hardcore productivity tools that can enter the real manufacturing system and solve operational pain points.

Now, some enterprises have taken the first step. On January 5th, Galaxy Universal officially launched the embodied intelligent heavy - load robot Galbot S1. Now, this robot has been applied in a real, zero - teleoperated, and fully autonomous manner in the production lines of manufacturing giants such as CATL.

It is worth mentioning that the core embodied handling model of the Galbot S1 product has been recognized as an important achievement in Beijing's artificial intelligence. Dr. Wang He, an assistant professor at Peking University and the founder of Galaxy Universal, officially reported and released it to the participating leaders at the Beijing Artificial Intelligence + Innovation Demonstration High - ground Conference.

This also means that Galbot S1 is not just a technological breakthrough for a single company but has also received authoritative certification at the strategic level. As the "No. 1 City for Artificial Intelligence" with concentrated innovation resources and active innovation entities in the country, excellent embodied intelligent innovation cases will also be exported as a "Beijing Solution" to the whole country and even the world.

When Galbot S1 enters the real factory environment, an issue that has long remained unresolved begins to find an answer: Is embodied intelligence an expensive technology show or a practical digital new infrastructure?

Breaking the industry's load limit

From the very beginning of its design, Galbot S1 is an embodied intelligent robot aiming at industrial productivity.

Current industrial robots, in essence, still add simple industrial functions to a general - purpose body, such as requiring QR - code positioning, fixed - point grasping, or simple movement along a preset trajectory. In contrast, Galbot S1 is custom - made for industrial scenarios. It directly faces the industrial environment with high intensity, long - cycle, and continuous operation. It can adapt to non - ideal working conditions such as dust, vibration, occlusion, and changes in lighting, and can also operate stably in the complex processes of human - robot co - existence in factories.

More importantly, it has made a significant breakthrough in load - carrying capacity: The maximum load of its two arms reaches 50 kg, and it can stably carry 32 kg when its arms are fully extended forward, breaking the load limit of the robot industry and truly entering the key handling link of the production process.

Of course, strength is not the only criterion. What determines whether a robot can truly play a role is its continuous ability to respond to changes.

The demand for embodied intelligence in manufacturing production lines is often more demanding. Different from highly automated production lines, robots need to handle materials flexibly, move autonomously, and continuously cooperate with humans.

Centering on real industrial needs, Galaxy Universal has built an embodied intelligent handling model for production scenarios based on Galbot S1. On the basis of the existing intelligent interaction and perception capabilities, this model pays more attention to certainty and reliability to ensure that the robot can complete key handling tasks stably over a long period.

Empowered by the model, Galbot S1 can achieve pure visual perception without relying on QR - codes or label positioning. It can still accurately position and operate in complex factory environments. It also has strong anti - interference ability and can complete tasks stably even when there are changes in lighting, occlusion, or dynamic interference. At the same time, with hard real - time response and 360° omnidirectional obstacle - avoidance perception, Galbot S1 can flexibly respond to dynamic environments and carry out human - robot cooperation safely and efficiently.

Moreover, relying on a highly reliable mechatronic architecture and dual - battery design, Galbot S1 has the ability for long - range continuous operation - an ultra - long battery life of 8 hours and can achieve autonomous battery replacement, enabling 7×24 - hour continuous operation to meet the continuous operation needs in real factories.

This is also Galbot S1's response to industrial pain points: while balancing intelligence and safety, it can also operate autonomously and stably day after day on the production line with a tight rhythm.

A new product and an immediate combat force

The ultimate goal of embodied intelligence is to liberate productivity. However, discussions about productivity must ultimately return to reality.

36Kr exclusively learned that Galbot S1 has been successfully implemented in the CATL factory and is serving the real production process autonomously without teleoperation.

The application at CATL shows that the demand for heavy - weight handling in the advanced manufacturing field is still urgent, and embodied intelligence can match the real - world needs in terms of capabilities. More importantly, this marks that an embodied intelligent robot has truly taken on the heavy - load task in the key manufacturing link for the first time and has withstood the complex tests of the real factory environment. The productivity represented by embodied intelligence has officially integrated into the main channel of industrial upgrading.

When leading enterprises entrust their core production links to the embodied intelligent system, it is not only an endorsement of the technical reliability and long - term value of the manufacturer behind it but also, through day - to - day practical experience, can gradually form a replicable and promotable productivity solution, which has great reference significance for multiple industrial fields such as future automobile manufacturing, semiconductors, and energy and power.

For current robot manufacturers, getting factory orders doesn't seem to be something new, but there is a long way to go from mass production and delivery to entering the real production process. Galbot S1's successful entry into CATL's production process also provides a sample to some extent: What role should embodied intelligence play in the factory?

Galaxy Universal has given a standard answer: Embodied intelligent productivity should not be a gimmick for show but an intelligent labor unit that can be continuously deployed, operate stably, and form a scale effect.

From an industrial perspective, this form of productivity has also brought about an innovation in the production mode. In the past, there was an awkward gap in the manufacturing industry - "Those with strength lack intelligence, and those with intelligence lack strength." To move heavy objects weighing dozens of kilograms, one could only rely on fixed robotic arms, which lacked flexibility. Although so - called industrial robots can identify obstacles, they cannot carry heavy loads. The emergence of S1 means that factories no longer need to modify production lines to accommodate machines but can let robots adapt to changeable production tasks like real people.

The most direct value of this leap is to provide certainty for factories. In an era of labor shortage, the mobility of workers has become the biggest variable for factories. Galbot S1 not only fills the labor gap but also reconnects the once - broken logistics and production links, truly bringing a qualitative improvement to production efficiency.

This also explains Galaxy Universal's restraint in path selection. While the embodied intelligence track is full of delicate, fun, and even socially - topical intelligent toys, it has chosen a more arduous and slower path: perfecting the ability to "do work".

This is a kind of clarity based on industrial practice - in the context of factories, any intelligence that cannot be converted into productivity is an expensive redundancy. Compared with performing dexterously, conquering the practical proposition of handling a 50 - kilogram load in a dusty and high - temperature environment truly touches the underlying pulse of China's manufacturing transformation and upgrading.

Firmly do the right thing

From a macro - industry perspective, the development path of embodied intelligence is diverging.

Most products emphasize lightness, portability, and interaction experience, making them more suitable for display and dissemination. A small number focus on high - intensity, long - cycle tasks and continuously polish engineering reliability and system stability.

Galaxy Universal is a highly representative enterprise of the latter.

This choice may not attract attention quickly, but it is closer to the long - term needs of industrial customers. Under this path, embodied intelligence is no longer a passing - by showcase but gradually evolves into a production factor that can be evaluated, replicated, and deployed on a large scale.

This also aligns with the strategic rhythm of the country's promotion of high - quality development in the manufacturing industry. As the "15th Five - Year Plan" unfolds, the intelligent transformation of China's manufacturing industry is no longer satisfied with patch - like local automation on the wall but pursues a system - level reconstruction. The "new - quality productivity" advocated by the country never focuses on the ethereal concept but on strong support for the real economy.

In December 2025, Galaxy Universal announced the completion of a new round of financing exceeding $300 million (approximately 2.1 billion RMB). This round of financing is currently the largest single - round financing in the field of embodied intelligence, and Galaxy Universal has thus become the domestic embodied intelligent startup with the highest valuation. This also shows that capital is recalibrating the valuation logic of embodied intelligence: from looking at who looks more human - like to looking at who can create more practical value with their machines.

In this context, the value standard of embodied intelligence is becoming increasingly clear: Whether it can enter real scenarios, undertake real tasks, and produce stably over a long period. Galaxy Universal's practical path is developed around this standard.

In the history of industrial development, every leap in human civilization has, in essence, been a re - definition of the boundaries of productivity. In the 18th century, James Watt improved the steam engine, solving the power source for the operation of the industrial society. In the 20th century, the popularization of the assembly line created a cooperative order for large - scale production. Now, Galbot S1's entry into the CATL production line is also answering a major proposition of this era: When the aging population and labor shortage are irreversible, who will take over those heavy and boring front - line production jobs?

From this perspective, the value of Galbot S1 does not lie in how much weight it can lift but in marking that embodied intelligence has truly entered the core of Chinese manufacturing. Its arrival fills the industry gap where embodied intelligence has difficulty taking on industrial responsibilities and opens a new chapter in industrial applications with dual breakthroughs in heavy - load and intelligence.

At this moment, embodied intelligence has finally taken off its gorgeous coat and put on work clothes. And this step is the beginning of Chinese technology truly taking root in the real economy and deeply cultivating the industrial soil.