AsianFin -- As artificial intelligence technology rapidly advances, humanoid robots have emerged as a sector with promising commercial potential. In China, this industry is seeing rapid expansion.

Since 2023, several Chinese humanoid robots have been introduced, such as Unitree ’ s H1, Zhiyuan   Robot ’ s A1, Fourier ’ s   GR-1, Robotera ’ s "Little Star," and LimX Dynamics ’ CL-1. These companies, founded mostly by a new generation of entrepreneurs born in the 1990s, are tapping into an industry whose progress is fueled by the potential of general-purpose artificial intelligence.

Wang Xingxing,   the   founder of Unitree Robotics, noted that large language models have sparked new possibilities for making humanoid robots more universally applicable, which has driven rapid growth.

According to Wang, the rise of this sector   is also due to the appeal it holds for younger entrepreneurs who are quick to adapt to new fields like AI and robotics, where past experience may not always be relevant.

In addition to independent companies, a national-level innovation center has taken on a leading role. The Joint National and Local   Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Center, formerly known as the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, recently celebrated its one-year anniversary and revealed plans to open-source its technological advancements.

In 2023, China ’ s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ( MIIT ) issued guidelines to position humanoid robots as a frontier technology for China ’ s economy.  

Beijing Robot Industry Innovation and Development Action Plan   ( 2023-2025 ) set ambitious goals, including developing 100 high-tech robots and creating 100 applications with nationwide relevance. It aims to build a dynamic ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship through targeted financial support, tax incentives, and other resources.

In line with these initiatives, the Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Center was established with contributions from ten major corporations, including UBTECH, Jingcheng Machinery Electric, and Xiaomi Robotics, each holding equal stakes of approximately 28.57%.

Over the past year, this center has launched foundational platforms such as "Tiangong"   and "Kaiwu,"   designed for general-purpose robotics and embodied intelligence. Tiangong, for example, can reach average speeds of 10 km/h, with a sprint capacity of up to 12 km/h, while Kaiwu integrates an AI-driven task-planning "embodied brain" and end-to-end skill execution.

The innovation center ’ s open-source philosophy underscores its goal of establishing an accessible framework for humanoid robot development. Key elements — such as Tiangong's software, structural blueprints, and electrical systems — will be progressively open-sourced, with some documentation already available.

In partnership with leading academic institutions like Peking University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the center supports collaborative research on humanoid robot development.

Setting standards is a core objective for the innovation center, which has partnered with major research institutions to establish a common framework across the industry. This includes the release of China's first national standard related to humanoid robots: the Performance and Test Methods for Legged Robots. This standard addresses inconsistencies in performance metrics, testing protocols, and experimental conditions for legged robots, with concurrent international standardization underway through ISO.  

Another landmark achievement is the industry ’ s first Data Collection Standard for Embodied Intelligence, which provides a framework for consistent data gathering. This allows   different companies to contribute and share standardized datasets, improving the field's collective understanding and fueling data-driven model training.

To guide development and application, the center is also working with industry experts to draft a classification system for humanoid robot intelligence, grading capabilities from level 0 to level 5. The three standards together — covering technical development, product evaluation, data collection, and sharing — offer a standardized approach to support the entire production chain from research to market deployment.  

In a novel initiative, the center recently announced the formation of China ’ s first embodied intelligence robot club. This club will coordinate competitive events both domestically and internationally, providing real-world testing grounds for advancements in "embodied brains"   and other cutting-edge technologies. The club aims to foster collaboration and propel technical innovation through direct competition and peer benchmarking.

The first event under the club ’ s banner will be the Humanoid Robot Marathon, scheduled to coincide with the Yizhuang Half Marathon in Beijing in 2025. This pioneering event, organized in partnership with Beijing's Economic and Information Technology Bureau and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, will invite humanoid robot teams from around the world. The Tiangong platform, already confirmed as a contender, will demonstrate its endurance capabilities on this global stage.

With plans to establish the world ’ s largest open-source community for embodied intelligence, the innovation center envisions fostering a collaborative environment among universities, research institutions, and commercial entities.

The center ’ s data platform is already amassing vast amounts of information, with daily data generation reaching up to 10TB across six body types and seven application scenarios. This rich dataset will power AI-driven task planning and skill execution, providing a solid foundation for humanoid robot training and skill refinement.

Future development will see even closer collaboration between academic institutions and the private sector. For instance, partner institutions are working on expanding Tiangong ’ s functionalities, particularly in areas like sensor integration, task-specific motor functions, and the creation of intelligent control algorithms.

As the field of humanoid robotics continues to progress, China ’ s national approach through the Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Center provides a comprehensive model for industry development. By combining open-source principles with rigorous standardization and competitive testing, the center is creating a sustainable ecosystem for embodied intelligence that is capable of meeting both domestic and international demands.  

The combination of governmental support, academic partnership, and commercial investment is helping China build a global leadership role in humanoid robotics. With the upcoming marathon event and open-source resources, China ’ s national strategy may set a   precedent, transforming humanoid robots from experimental technology into practical tools for a wide range of applications.