Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 22. On April 21, Xinhua Daily Telegraph published a report titled "Accelerating Evolution of Humanoid Robots".

　　On April 19, the world's first personal robot half marathon was held in Beijing. On the 21.0975-kilometer track, for the first time, 20 robot teams from universities, research institutions and enterprises participated in the competition, including "Tiangong" with a height of 1.8 meters and a large stride, "Xiaohai" with a height of 82 cm, a small and flexible "Xiaohai" and "Walker 2" with a battery life of 6 hours.

　　Liang Liang, deputy director of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee, said that in the past, humanoid robots were mostly tested in closed environments such as laboratories, and this marathon was a systematic test of the adaptability of humanoid robots in comprehensive scenarios. Through this "extreme test", people care about how robots can achieve a technical leap from short-distance walking to marathon competition.

　　On the previous Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Snake, more than 10 Yushu robots wore flowery cotton jackets and took on the stage, dancing yangko and handkerchiefs with real dancers, which attracted widespread attention. People exclaimed that humanoid robots have come to the ordinary people's life.

　　Investment around humanoid robots is heating up. More than 10 local governments including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, etc. have established industrial funds of more than 10 million yuan. The number of companies engaged in embodied intelligence is increasing, and the scale of financing is constantly increasing.

　　Building a machine like a human is a long-standing dream of mankind. From the records of Yanshi's "doll" in the ancient book "Liezi Tangwen" to the simple combination of "human-shaped" shells and mechanical devices appearing in the early 20th century, from various robots in Chinese and foreign science fiction works to the birth of the world's first human-shaped robot, WABOT-1, at Waseda University in Japan in 1973, people's exploration of human-shaped robots has never stopped. Over the past half a century, this industry has been developing ups and downs, and countries around the world have launched a variety of humanoid robots, but overall development is slow.

　　Nowadays, why does the development of humanoid robots suddenly accelerate?

　　(I) Robots attract attention frequently

　　"You can meet a humanoid robot every few steps." At the end of March, many guests who participated in the annual meeting of the Zhongguancun Forum said, "I felt the scene of the science fiction film" and "entered the future society in advance."

　　On March 27, 2025, the humanoid robot "Kuafu" performed at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Meeting. (Picture provided by the interviewed company)
　　Nearly 100 humanoid robots from more than 10 companies work together to "work" forum, active in welcome, exchange, hosting, performance and other scenes:

　　"Kuafu" who performed Tai Chi at the opening ceremony is 1.7 meters tall and weighs 55 kilograms. It is created by Leju Tongyan combining the "humanoid body" of Leju (Shenzhen) Robotics Technology Co., Ltd. and the "intelligent brain" of Beijing General Artificial Intelligence Research Institute. It is also a welcome robot, which answers questions and provides explanations and guidance services to the public. If someone asks for directions, he can still lead the way.

　　The T1 robot "Tsinghua Vulcan Team" which won the German Open this year's Robot Football World Cup, undertakes four tasks: performing difficult movements such as group push-ups and getting up in one second at the opening ceremony, performing football matches and stunts in the exhibition hall, guiding as a guest, and hosting a sub-forum.

　　In the more than two months since the Spring Festival, popular videos of humanoid robots have appeared on social media every few days, showing off their unique skills such as front somersaults, back somersaults, and cycling, and refreshing people's understanding of embodied intelligence with difficult actions and anthropomorphic interactions.

　　Embodied intelligence is a new word that has entered the public's vision in recent years. It emphasizes the close integration of intelligent systems and bodies, and realizes intelligent behavior through the interaction between the body and the environment. The concept that is different from the concept is bodyless intelligence, such as a chatbot that does not have a physical body and relies entirely on computing and data processing to achieve intelligent behavior.

　　Humanoid robots are one of the typical application forms of embodied intelligence. At this year's National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the government work report clearly stated that it will establish a mechanism for future industrial investment growth and cultivate future industries including embodied intelligence.

　　Some factories, universities, scientific research institutions, artificial intelligence companies, etc. are taking the lead in using humanoid robots.

　　Since the beginning of this year, UBL He Leju from Shenzhen has announced that its robots have entered the automobile factory for practical training.

　　People saw from the recently released video of UBL that at the Zekr Automobile Factory, two 1.72-meter-high robot Walker S1s, stood face to face. They nodded to each other at the same time, then spread their arms to jointly carry a material box that is 1.2 meters long, 50 cm wide and 40 cm high. There is also a robot next to it using "dexterous hands" to put the parts into the box.

　　Leng Xiaokun, founder of Leju Company, said that the company's robot "Kuafu" has conducted two tasks in several automobile factories - moving boxes and sorting spare parts.

　　"The work efficiency of a robot is about 70% of that of a skilled worker." Leng Xiaokun said that the robot cannot do the complex work undertaken by senior technicians such as making precision screws, but instead does heavy, generalized, and highly repetitive work, such as carrying boxes of different sizes, colors, weights, and sizes, sorting spare parts of different shapes, etc.

　　"We conducted research at the car factory last year and found that automation equipment has undertaken more than 80% of the work, but in the 'last mile', for example, the last production line in the complete workshop still relies on manpower, and existing robotic arms, wheeled robots and other equipment cannot be completed. This kind of humanoid robot is the appropriate solution." Leng Xiaokun said.

　　In March, Dongfeng Liuqi announced the purchase and deployment of 20 UBL humanoid robots, and plans to complete delivery in the first half of the year. This will be the first time that humanoid robots have entered the car factory in batches.

　　"Industrial manufacturing is what we value the most and can help customers solve practical problems." Zhou Jian, founder of UBL, said that this year UBL's goal is to produce about 1,000 humanoid robots, enter real scenes to collect more data, and prepare for the next greater development.

　　Recently, UBL also joined hands with the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center to release the full-size scientific research-level humanoid robot "Tiangongxing" with a total size of less than 300,000 yuan.

　　Yushu Technology, which has not yet planned to let robots enter the factory, has recently been "new" on e-commerce platforms at home and abroad such as JD.com and AliExpress. Yushu products have two types: four-legged robot dogs are mainly aimed at C-end consumers, and humanoid robots are mainly aimed at developers.

　　Yushu products are still selling hot overseas. Not long ago, at the Mobile World Congress in Spain and the Nvidia Developer Conference in the United States, the robot sales banners launched by Yushu Technology attracted attention. Huang Jiawei, marketing director of Yushu, said that last year, Yushu humanoid robots were sold to more than 100 countries and regions, and their core users were universities, research institutes, technology AI companies, etc. Users do secondary development on Yushu hardware.

　　Nearly 30 universities in China have purchased Yushu humanoid robots for teaching and research. Zeng Lingdong, a teacher at the Engineering and Technology Training Center of Shanghai University, said that they have made three aspects of development around robots, including realizing walking, running and jumping in complex environments, training the robot to perceive the environment for positioning and navigation, and improving the robot's independent decision-making and cognitive intelligence.

　　In addition to entering factories, universities, and scientific research fields, humanoid robots are also entering the specialty industry. For example, the special humanoid robot of power developed by the Guangdong Power Grid Corporation of China Southern Power Grid Corporation can withstand extreme cold of minus 40℃ and high temperature of 80℃. It has been put into use to accurately find fault points in deep mountains and old forests.

　　The industrial layout of humanoid robots is accelerating in many places across the country. It is understood that more than 10 local governments including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing have established and prepared to establish industrial funds, focusing on robot bodies, industrial chain components, and innovative applications of industrial chains. More than 10 companies in Beijing and Shenzhen have released humanoid robot products, and companies in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and other places are also competing to release them.

　　In the investment world, robot companies are becoming increasingly popular. According to data from IT Orange, a data service provider for venture capital and emerging technology industries, in the first three months of this year, more than 50 companies embodied in the smart track received financing of over 6 billion yuan.

　　(2) Why does the acceleration start?

　　In 1973, Waseda University in Japan launched the world's first full-size humanoid robot WABOT-1, which was wrapped in electric wires. It takes 45 seconds to walk each step, and it can only walk 10 cm at a time, which is bulky and slow.

　　At the beginning of this century, Japan's Honda Company released ASIMO (Assimo), a humanoid robot that resembles a space astronaut, which can go up and down stairs and understand voice commands. In 2013, the humanoid robot Atlas released by Boston Dynamics, which is steadily walking on a treadmill, and can also jump, rotate, roll, etc. It is designed for disaster scenes, with the goal of replacing humans in dangerous areas such as chemical leakage and building collapses to complete tasks such as switching valves and handling.

　　Despite significant technological progress, in 2018, Honda Japan announced the suspension of development of ASIMO robots. Although Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot has been widely praised for its capabilities such as motion control, it has been resold many times due to its high price and difficulty in maintaining.

　　Since then, the humanoid robot industry has fallen into silence for a while. Until in recent years, humanoid robots have suddenly accelerated their development. Why?

　　"For a long time, robot development is based on programming. AI models are released in 2022. They can simulate the human brain and have the ability to generalize and migrate, and promote the development of a new species of humanoid robot." Wang Tianmiao, honorary director of the Institute of Robotics, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, explained. In the 1990s, he developed the first generation of medical robots.

　　Xiong Rong, director of Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center and professor at Zhejiang University, said that the traditional robot research paradigm relies on mathematical modeling of human motion texture and realizes functions by seeking optimal solutions. This method is highly dependent on the experience of human experts, and has the limitations of insufficient generalization ability, making it difficult to achieve intelligence that can learn from one example and apply it to others.

　　"When we used to apply artificial intelligence technology, we focused on functional development at the perception level, such as voice interaction and visual recognition, which allowed robots to perform specific tasks of preset programs." Xiong Rong pointed out, "With the development of a new generation of artificial intelligence technology, we can now allow robots to master more implicit knowledge through large-scale data acquisition and neural network training, which has opened up a new path for research."

　　Artificial intelligence empowers robots is also a consensus in the industry.

　　In the view of Zhang Jin, president of Shenyang Xinsong Robot Automation Co., Ltd., the biggest driving force for humanoid robots in recent times is the new generation of artificial intelligence. He entered the Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences in the early 1990s, focusing on robot research and development, and the company was the first to go public in the industry.

　　Zhang Jin said that their company has also tried to build humanoid robots. Walking and body movements are not technical difficulties. The biggest problem is that the humanoid robots created have no "brain".

　　Experts' opinion in a simple way is that the previous humanoid robots were like a "wire-lifting puppet", relying on "pre-written programs" or single-function AI, and their application scenarios were limited. The emergence of large models allowed the robot to accelerate its growth in intelligence, began to truly understand the environment, make independent decisions and interactions, opening up a wide range of applications.

　　Several experts interviewed mentioned one thing that happened in 2022: Tesla officially released the humanoid robot Optimus (Optimus). Musk showed videos of Optimus carrying boxes and grab metal rods at a car factory, and said that the cost of production will be reduced to between $20,000 and $30,000.

　　"After receiving the instructions, Optimus Prime does not execute according to traditional programming, nor does it have a fixed motion trajectory. It can understand the instructions, make independent decisions, and decompose them into multiple actions, which raises the application of robots to a higher level, allowing everyone to see the development direction of humanoid robots." Zhang Jin said.

　　Zhao Mingguo, director of the Robot Control Laboratory of the Department of Automation at Tsinghua University, said that he began to study humanoid robots in 2001. The problem that has always been a headache is that robots are too expensive and hardware costs such as reducers, drivers, and motors are high. After Tesla entered the market, it brought suppliers from the original car manufacturer into the robot field by making products and building industrial chains, bringing new ideas to the industry.

　　Humanoid robots are generally composed of three parts: brain, cerebellum, and ontology. What are its challenges in research and development?

　　Take the example of a robot that acts as a shape of a robot to pick up a glass of water—

　　The "brain" disassembles this instruction into multi-level tasks such as "What is the cup? Where is the water? Where is the water? How to go? How much water is it? Cold or hot?" In this process, the "brain" has a large number of calculations such as identification, perception, judgment, and decision-making. Any omission will cause the instructions to fail.

　　The specific actions such as walking, holding, turning down, and handing, including how to bypass a stool blocking the way or lifting your foot to cross the kitchen threshold, rely on the command of the "cerebellum". During the movement, if a pet suddenly appears, the information must be fed back to the "brain" and re-planned the path.

　　Some products unveiled this year reflect the advancement of technologies such as "cerebellum" and "brain".

　　The performance of Yushu robot in the Spring Festival Gala was considered by many industry insiders to be "developed cerebellum" and demonstrated a high level of motion control. Because the characteristic of the "cerebellum" is that its algorithm is highly dependent on data collected around the robot hardware, and has high requirements for the adaptability to the hardware.

　　In March, the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center released the world's first universal embodied intelligent platform "Huisi Kaiwu", which is "one brain and multiple capabilities" and "one brain and multiple machines".

　　"Embolic intelligence is still in its early stages in intelligence, and the industry urgently needs a general intelligent platform with multi-ontology compatibility, multi-scenario adaptability and strong generalization capabilities." Xiong Youjun, general manager of the Innovation Center, said that "Huisi Kaiwu" is to fill in the important puzzle of the general software system for the embodied intelligent industry, helping humanoid robots move from performing a single task to independently making and executing tasks in complex environments.

　　At present, the biggest bottleneck restricting the development of humanoid robots is still the "brain". It is generally believed in the industry that research on the universal embossed intelligent model, known as the robot's "brain", has just begun.

　　Zhang Weinan, deputy director of the Department of Computing at Harbin Institute of Technology and executive dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence, and his team have been engaged in machine brain research for a long time. He said that at home and abroad, there has not been any breakthrough products as big models as in the "brain" of robots.

　　"From the core of intelligence, that is, the software part of the brain, the biggest problem we are facing at present is data, and high-quality and large-scale data for cross-scenarios are lacking." Zhang Weinan said.

　　In terms of hardware, Zhang Weinan said that special computing power chips specifically for the machine brain need to be further developed and popularized.

　　Xu Huazhe, co-founder of Xinghaitu Artificial Intelligence and assistant professor at Tsinghua University's School of Intersectional Information, focuses on the ability of robots' "brain", that is, the basic model of embodied intelligence.

　　"A true embodied intelligence basic model must allow the robot to have the ability to execute long sequences of actions, follow language instructions, etc., and at the same time, it is more agile and generalized." He often uses robot cooking as an example to describe the extent that his ideal "brain" can reach.

　　"I want the robot to make a squirrel mandarin fish because the operation is difficult enough - the fish is live, slippery and sticky, and has granular scales. Not only do you have to deal with live fish, but you also have to be able to change knives, fry, fry sugar, pour juice, and plaster. If a robot can accomplish these, it proves that it has a very high level of intelligence." Xu Huazhe said that he once regarded this as a "lifelong goal." In the past year, as capital and talents continue to pour into this field, Xu Huazhe has become more optimistic. But even so, he still felt that it would take at least ten or twenty years to eat this dish made by a robot.

　　Recently, videos such as humanoid robots serving tea and pouring water and threading needles on grapes have been widely circulated on social media. Many people think that they can buy a robot as a nanny soon.

　　When the reporter asked several industry experts the question of "when will humanoid robots enter the family?", their attitude was generally cautious, saying that humanoid robots can do some complex actions, which does not mean that they can enter the family. There is still a huge gap between being able to move and being able to do.

　　"Embodied intelligence explosive growth depends on software big models, data synthesis training, chip computing power, etc.." Wang Tianmiao said that the big models initially train themselves to become "liberal arts students" by asking questions, and then train themselves to become "science students" by learning calculations, analysis, and reasoning. Next, the big models need to train themselves to become "engineering students", they must have knowledge, understand skills, be able to operate, and collaborate with people. He estimates that various applications of embodied intelligence will appear in two or three years, and humanoid robots may become the protagonist after 2035.

　　"It is still difficult for humanoid robots to enter family scenarios at present." Xiong Rong believes that it may start to be implemented in some specific scenarios in 3 to 5 years, and it will take 7 to 10 years to be versatile.

　　The team of Zhang Rui, founder of Beijing Iron Man Technology Co., Ltd., was selected to participate in the China Astronaut Humanoid Robot Project in 2021. He admitted: "Compared to entering space, humanoid robots will have higher difficulty and longer cycles to complete tasks in the home."

　　Zhang Rui explained that home is a complex environment, with elderly people, children, cats and dogs. The floor has carpets, floor tiles, cement, etc., with different flatness. Humanoid robots walk on different grounds with different friction, which has the risk of falling. A piece of steel worth more than 100 kilograms will hurt whether it hits a person or a pet. "From this perspective, humanoid robots entering the family cannot be stacked with existing mechanical and electronic structures, but new materials must be used to form a new generation of muscles, bones, etc. through chemical changes."

　　In Leng Xiaokun's view, humanoid robots that enter the family in the future must be as cheap as home appliances and as smart as doctors.

　　"Many people have seen the trend that it will be as cheap as home appliances, because ontology and 'cerebellum' technologies have already been available, and it is only a matter of time to reduce costs, but how to make robots as smart as doctors, applying AI intelligence to ontology is a difficult point in research." Leng Xiaokun said.

　　(III) Manufacturing Advantages in China

　　An industrial park at the junction of Lingang and Fengxian District in the southeast of Shanghai. The first phase of Shanghai Zhiyuan Xinchuang Technology Co., Ltd. is located here. It is also known by the industry as the first mass production factory of humanoid robots in Shanghai.

　　The reason why it is called a "mass production factory" is that in January this year, Zhiyuan's 1,000th universal embossed robot was launched, including 731 bipedal humanoid robots "Expedition A2" and "Lingxi X1", as well as 269 wheeled universal robots.

　　The reporter saw that the factory was divided into two floors: the first floor is production and assembly, and the second floor is the whole machine testing. Unlike many highly automated unmanned factories, most of the links here are involved by engineers or technicians.

　　"Just like a person has more than 200 bones, A2 has more than 400 parts on its entire body." Yao Maoqing, partner of Zhiyuan and president of the embossed business department, said that the robot is not completed just by assembling it together, but just started. In order to avoid walking unsteady or falling, it must undergo one sub-test after another, such as a squat with a single leg weighing 30 kg, and more than 2,000 tests are required.

　　Yao Maoqing said that the factory was put into production in July last year. Currently, hundreds of workers are mainly from the artificial intelligence and automobile industries. They all have certain experience and professional abilities in quality system, production and operation system, and supply chain management, and "escort" every robot that stands up and walks steadily.

　　The well-known investment bank Morgan Stanley recently released the report "Humanoid Robot 100: Mapping the Humanoid Robot Value Chain" which shows that Asia accounts for 73% of the top 100 listed companies, while China accounts for 56%.

　　"China continues to make the most impressive progress in the field of humanoid robots, and startups are benefiting from mature supply chains, opportunities for local applications and strong support from the country," the Morgan Stanley report said.

　　In addition to humanoid robot startups, there are two types of companies that are entering the research and development of humanoid robots: one is leading technology companies, such as Huawei, iFlytek, etc., which start from the perspective of artificial intelligence to provide robots with "intelligence"; the other is new energy vehicle companies, such as Xiaopeng, Xiaomi, etc., which are mainly based on humanoid robots and smart cars that can migrate in supply chains such as batteries, chips, and sensors, and have similarities in the application of autonomous driving technology and AI models.

　　"Although humanoid robots first appeared abroad, the real industrialization is most likely to be implemented in China, because China has a very complete industrial chain, and all the required core components and technologies are studied by teams." Zhang Jin said that in every key field, some will appear, some will focus on "brain", and some will be good at feet, arms, etc. Everyone will work together to form a complete and healthy industrial ecosystem.

　　He Xiaopeng, founder of Xiaopeng Motors, said that the company has been researching in the field of robots for more than 5 years and is currently focusing on developing the physical world model required for the "brain". The current humanoid robot is close to the initial stage of L2 in autonomous driving, and it is expected to realize the L3 capabilities that can be mass-produced and commercially valuable as soon as possible.

　　A report from Dongwu Securities believes that the humanoid robot industry in 2025 is comparable to the electric vehicle industry in 2014. With the beginning of domestic mass production, a 10-year development cycle will begin.

　　"An important feature of China's electric vehicle industry development is that it has opened up the supply chain with consumer electronics. The development of the embodied intelligent industry represented by humanoid robots is learning from this experience." said Li Zexiang, professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and initiator of the Songshan Lake Robot Industry Base in Dongguan.

　　"China has the potential to replicate the disruptive impact of the electric vehicle industry in the humanoid robot field. However, this time the disruptive impact may go far beyond a single industry and may change the labor itself." A report from Consumer News and Business Channel of the United States quoted the views of Rick Knutson, an analyst at the US semiconductor research consulting firm.

　　my country's robot industry has been developing for decades, and has accumulated a large number of technology and customers in the fields of industry, services, etc., laying the foundation for the development of humanoid robots.

　　Last year, my country's industrial robot market sold more than 290,000 units, the highest level of application in the automotive and electronics industries. Medical robots, sweeping robots, companion robots, etc. have also entered hospitals and families in large quantities.

　　Wu Fengli, founder of Guangdong Tosda Technology Co., Ltd., which mainly engages in industrial robots, said that they closely monitor the development of humanoid robots and are making corresponding technical reserves. "Our confidence in developing humanoid robots in the future is that the company already has more than 200,000 manufacturing customers, and the developed humanoid robot products can be applied to existing customers as soon as possible."

　　Zhang Jin also said that Xinsong has been focusing on industrial robots for more than 20 years and has accumulated rich industrial knowledge and experience. Once a large number of application scenarios of humanoid robots appear in the industrial field, Xinsong's current humanoid robot team can quickly follow up.

　　The industry generally believes that the engineer dividend is one of the important advantages of my country in developing humanoid robots.

　　my country has continued to invest in higher education for more than 40 years and has cultivated the world's largest and most complete team of engineers. A report from the Development Research Center of the State Council shows that the total number of engineers in my country increased from 5.21 million in 2000 to 17.653 million in 2020, which is characterized by younger age. The 2021 report of the Chinese Academy of Engineering shows that the total number of engineering graduates in my country each year exceeds one-third of the total number of engineering graduates in the world.

　　High-quality talents cultivated by college robot majors, and provide a good talent reserve for the development of the humanoid robot industry. In the 1980s, some universities established robot research institutions based on disciplines such as automation, mechanical engineering, and computer science. For example, in 1986, Harbin Institute of Technology established the Robotics Research Institute, which later developed into the National Key Laboratory of Robotics Technology and Systems.

　　With the rise of the artificial intelligence and robotics industries, the Ministry of Education approved "Robot Engineering" as an undergraduate major in 2016, and so far more than 300 universities have opened undergraduate majors in robotics engineering.

　　At the policy level, from the state to the local government, there is a clear positioning for the development of the humanoid robot industry and it has clearly accelerated its deployment.

　　The "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2023 proposes that humanoid robots are expected to become a disruptive product after computers, smartphones, and new energy vehicles.

　　Last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and seven other departments issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting Future Industrial Innovation and Development", and humanoid robots ranked first in the column "Innovation Iconic Products".

　　From a local perspective, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and other places have introduced policies to support industries such as robots or embodied intelligence.

　　The path of humanoid robots to the future is becoming clearer and we need to work together to accelerate the arrival of technological explosion points. Artificial intelligence + advanced manufacturing is putting China at the forefront of the world of robotics revolution.

　　(IV) Aspiration and vigilance for the future

　　In what fields will humanoid robots be the first to be used?

　　The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s guiding opinions put forward three scenarios: serving the needs of special fields; creating typical manufacturing scenarios; and accelerating the promotion of people’s livelihood and key industries.

　　Experts said that some operations with harsh conditions and dangerous scenes, such as civil explosions, rescue, etc., require humanoid robots, which can reduce the risk of work.

　　Although automobiles, 3C and other manufacturing industries are important scenarios to improve the operation and task execution capabilities of humanoid robot tools, humanoid robots currently trained at home and abroad still undertake simple tasks, and their efficiency is not as efficient as ordinary workers.

　　For example, the head of Agility Robotics in the United States said that handling in factories is the most suitable application scenario for humanoid robots. The current battery of its robot Digit can only support continuous working for 1.5 hours and then charge for 1.5 hours, which determines that the current work efficiency of humanoid robots is far lower than that of workers.

　　Industry insiders generally believe that in order to enter a wider range of real applications in the future, humanoid robots must first enter "vocational skills training schools".

　　Shanghai Zhiyuan Robot Data Collection Center is such a school. In the space of about 4,000 square meters, daily life scenarios such as restaurants, milk tea shops, and homes are built. Hundreds of data collectors wear VR glasses and hold operating handles, "step by step" to teach the robot to do housework - fold clothes, clean dishes, pour tea, deliver food, clean tables, and supermarket cashiers... Each action requires the robot to repeat hundreds of times.

　　For example, in the eyes of humans, robots can only understand the extremely simple pouring of water from high-quality data. If pouring into cup A or into cup B, how to deal with it calmly when the cup is temporarily moved, rather than becoming a "mentally retarded" who makes trouble or makes a mess.

　　Peng Zhihui, co-founder of Zhiyuan, explained that unlike the text, pictures, video and other data required by large language models, robots need to interact with tangible objects in the three-dimensional world. This kind of data cannot be obtained from the Internet. It can only collect a large amount of real robot interaction data by investing a lot of manpower and material resources. More than half of the people in the Zhiyuan R&D team are doing research related to "big and big brain". Although it is difficult, it must be made.

　　In addition to the training grounds opened by robot companies like Zhiyuan, the national and local humanoid robot innovation centers in Beijing and Shanghai have also established a "technical school" for humanoid robots.

　　Leng Xiaokun believes that these training grounds abstract the actual production and life scenarios, complete tasks by manually operating the robot, collect multi-dimensional data, and then input the data into the embodied intelligent model, that is, the "brain" for training. After maturity, the model is deployed to the robot to obtain new skills. This is the core task of the development of humanoid robots in the next two or three years.

　　Many people are worried that "humanoid robots will snatch their jobs", and the actual situation learned from the reporter's interview is even more complicated. A factory manager told reporters that he recruited about 900 people the year before yesterday, more than 450 people last year, and only more than 300 people this year, and there are still job vacancies. Many people would rather deliver takeout than go to the factory. So it is not that "the robot is laid off as soon as it starts working", but that there is indeed some work that is short of people.

　　Xiong Rong said that if humanoid robots are used on a large scale, it means that they can replace humans to engage in dangerous, repetitive and boring work, and are expected to solve the problem of social labor shortage in the future.

　　However, although humanoid robots will bring great convenience to human work and life in the future, they may also bring challenges to the original social order and create ethical risks. Experts warn that this is not only about technology and business, but also about the future of mankind.

　　People are worried that robots will lose control at any time, that human rights will be violated unconsciously, and that robots' behavior cannot be traced and held accountable.

　　Wang Tianran, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an expert in robotics and industrial automation, believes that the solution to these problems directly determines the public's acceptance of robots and their technologies. Therefore, how to restrict the behavior of robots and how to guide the behavior and public decisions of robots can conform to the basic values ​​of human beings, it should become a concern for robot designers, producers, applications and even social managers.

　　As early as more than 80 years ago, science fiction novelist Isaac Asimov proposed the "Three Principles of Robots" to explore the relationship between robots and humans: robots must not harm humans, or watch humans be hurt; robots must obey humans' orders unless the order conflicts with the first principle; robots must protect themselves without violating the first and second principles.

　　"The three principles proposed by Asimov are rules-based decision-making methods, but ethical issues in reality are often conflicts within the same principle, which is much more complicated than Asimov's three principles." said Liu Zhe, a professor at Peking University. He participated in the compilation of the "Forecast of the Standardization of Robot Ethics in China (2019)", which aims to lay the foundation for the formulation of robot ethics standards and even ethical legal governance in the future.

　　Liu Zhe believes that although humanoid robots are still far away from having autonomy comparable to humans, their autonomy will bring multiple ethical challenges to human society, and more social resources and attention are needed to invest in research.

　　He emphasized that the current decision-making of intelligent robots is a "black box", and based on specific environment changes, it relies on algorithms, data, etc. to make decisions and actions. Therefore, ethical documents related to intelligent robots around the world must propose the reasons why robot systems are "transparent" and "explainable". When conducting ethical governance, we must not only have ethical considerations in the design of robots, but also have an ethical framework with social consensus.

　　"When a robot has emotional interaction capabilities, it may cause a series of ethical problems." Zhang Weinan said that ethical norms need to be formulated to further clarify the tool attributes of the robot.

　　Humanoid robots represent not only technological breakthroughs, but also have a profound impact on human self-cognition.

　　This human-machine dance has just begun, and its dance steps will be related to the rhythm of the future of civilization.

[Editor in charge: Chen Tingyu]