Optimized, primed — next-Gen robots start rollout

Shortcomings, challenges

Humanoid robots, however, are still in the very early stages of development. There are shortcomings in their design, and their functionalities are not fully in line with customer needs. Technological hurdles and cost challenges also exist, experts said.

"As a manufactured product, humanoid robots can only have a solid market when costs are lowered to an acceptable level," said Guo Qianqian, an analyst at Essence Securities.

But progress is underway. Last year, Unitree Robotics unveiled a surprisingly low price of 99,000 yuan for its latest G1 humanoid robot, standing in sharp contrast to many robots from other companies that are priced from 150,000 to 200,000 yuan.

According to Unitree Robotics, G1 is about 127 centimeters tall and boasts impressive stability and flexibility, such as 180-degree body rotation and the ability to crack walnuts "barehanded".

The story behind Unitree Robotics' ability to offer such low prices can be traced back to its years of developing quadruped robots and its self-developed electric drive technology.

"The core components of the G1 joint unit, including the servo motor, reducer and controller, are all independently developed and produced by Unitree," said Wang Qixin, chief marketing officer at Unitree Robotics.

The development of the G1 humanoid took about three months from project initiation to launch, primarily due to Unitree Robotics' own technology. Wang also acknowledged that the reduced size of the robot contributed to the lower price.

Humanoid robots' path to commercialization may take even longer than that of autonomous driving vehicles, experts said.

He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Chinese automaker Xpeng Motors, said he recently had a discussion with Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, and Zhou from UBTech Robotics. The trio agreed that current humanoid robot technology approximates to level 2 autonomy, or assisted autonomy, while the industry hopes to achieve commercially viable level 3 autonomy, or conditional automation.

Level 2 is part of broader standards developed in relation to the degree to which autonomous machines take over driving functions. Level 2 means partial driver assistance. Level 3 means that drivers don't need to pay attention in certain situations. Level 4 means that vehicles can perform all driving tasks under specific circumstances, but human overrides are still an option.

He said the leap from level 2 to level 3 in humanoid robots requires "exponentially" greater capabilities, and humanoid robots need to reach level 4 autonomy before operating in households.

Compared with autonomous vehicles, humanoid robots face far greater challenges in perception, decision-making, motion control, and hardware across more complex, unpredictable scenarios, experts added.

Over the years, smart cars have developed high-level autonomous driving, but level 4 and above remain commercially elusive.

Compared to vehicles' controlled traffic environments, humanoid robots demand "higher generality" across diverse, unpredictable scenarios. Current applications focus on grasping, assembly and inspection in factories — processes that require 18 to 24 months of rigorous testing, said Zhou from UBTech Robotics.