China's humanoid robot connects to satellite in pioneering trial

BEIJING -- In a trial demonstration, a Chinese humanoid robot was directly connected to a low-Earth orbit satellite, achieving a breakthrough that enables robots to operate autonomously in remote areas without relying on ground networks.

The trial, conducted during a recent commercial space industry promotion event, saw the "Embodied Tien Kung" robot developed by the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics, or X-Humanoid, establish a stable link with an internet satellite from GalaxySpace, achieving synchronous transmission of the robot's visual data.

According to X-Humanoid, this is the first demonstration of its kind in the world. It also marked China's first instance of a humanoid robot connecting simultaneously to a low-orbit satellite, a domestically made smartphone, and a computer terminal.

The connection was maintained as the robot received a document from an unmanned vehicle and delivered it to a newly built aerospace industrial park in suburban Beijing. Its coordinated movements and a 720p live video feed from its perspective were streamed back to a command center in real time via the satellite, without any lag.

Satellite internet can liberate robots from their dependence on cellular or Wi-Fi networks. In locations such as remote mountainous regions, offshore islands, or disaster relief sites, robots can maintain a real-time online communication wherever satellite coverage is available.