With the boom in humanoid robot rental in China, the era of “one household and one robot” is approaching in the near future, China’s state-run English newspaper Global Times reported on the 25th.
According to reports, the recent rapid increase in interest in artificial intelligence (AI) in China has led to a rise in related demand.
In China this year, the generative artificial intelligence (AI) model DeepSeek and Unitri’s legion of tall-legged humanoid robots, which appeared on the Chunje TV gala show and showed off spectacular dance moves, became a hot topic.
On the used trading platform, a number of articles were posted saying that Unity’s humanoid robot G1 would be rented for a fee.
The rental fee was around 5,000 yuan per day, and the deposit was an additional 500 yuan.
The G1 was sold out as soon as Unitree started pre-orders on the e-commerce platform Jingdong (JD.com ) on July 12. The same was true of the H1 model, which was previously G1.
Their selling prices were relatively high, with G19,000 yuan and H165,000 yuan, but they immediately sold out, realizing their popularity.
In addition to G1 and H1, various types of humanoid robots are on sale at Jingdong Dotcom. They ranged from 1,000 yuan toys to hundreds of thousands of yuan for professionals.
The industry sees this trend as an important turning point.
In the past, robots were limited to research labs or specific industrial sites, but now it can be seen that an environment has been created in which the general public can easily access humanoid robots.
“If mass production begins in earnest, prices will fall sharply,” said Wang Xingxing, founder of Unity. “Most households will own humanoid robots within five years or earlier.”
“The growth of the rental market can be seen as a pre-stage toward a future where every home has a humanoid robot beyond using it commercially or using it in the entertainment sector,” said Guotao, an AI expert.
However, he added, “For the popularization of humanoid robots, tasks such as implementing sophisticated movements that can operate stably in complex environments at home, improving battery life, and more natural interactions with humans must be overcome.”
In China, various videos showing the technology of new humanoid robots are attracting attention online every day.
On the 23rd, a company called Engine AI in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, released a scene of a humanoid robot somersaulting while jumping.
The company explained that the physical technology introduced by the robot is the first to be implemented in the world. The robot PM01 was 138cm tall and weighed about 40kg. It can move up to 2m/s.
In addition, the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center promoted the development of the world’s first robot “Tiangung,” which can climb 134 steps.
China is currently the world’s largest producer of humanoid robots, according to the recently released ‘Humanoid Robot Industry Research Report’ by the China Institute of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT).
China’s humanoid robot market was expected to reach about 2.76 billion yuan last year, and it is expected to grow to 100 billion yuan by 2030.
SAM KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
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