The management question is therefore broader than “Will humanoids work?” It is “Which physical-work workflows might become software-defined once robotics platforms mature?” Enterprises should watch where vendors are already narrowing scope: repetitive service tasks, light industrial handling, inspection, and assisted retail or hospitality interactions. Those are more actionable than headline-grabbing flips and stage performances.
There is also a strategic caution. The article shows strong momentum, but momentum should not be mistaken for operational viability. Safety, battery life, maintainability, and task-specific ROI still matter more than crowd appeal. CIOs and operations leaders evaluating robotics should resist buying into the humanoid form factor as a default. In many environments, fixed automation, wheeled systems, or specialized robots may deliver value faster and with lower risk.
A practical takeaway is to treat embodied AI as a portfolio question, not a single bet. Track ecosystem maturity, pilot narrowly defined tasks, and separate PR visibility from deployment readiness. The organizations that benefit first are likely to be those that match robot design to process constraints rather than to public excitement.
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THE PLACE
Shanghai, China
Humanoid robots are having a moment in China. The popular machines are part of the country’s strategy to bring artificial intelligence into daily life. Embedding the technology into physical systems—an idea called embodied AI—was a key facet of China’s latest five-year plan, and companies here are already world leaders in humanoids. Nearly 90% of the more than 13,000 two-armed, two-legged robots delivered globally last year were made in China.
“Look, it is trying to do a handstand!” an 11-year-old boy shouts excitedly while watching his new mini robotic dog attempt a series of stunts. The toy pet is a gift his mom just bought him at a robot “carnival” held by an R&D center on the outskirts of Shanghai, and he can’t stop showing it off to passersby. It’s a public holiday, and curious families are pouring in to the event to see what’s on display.
This busy hub houses more than 100 companies that research, develop, manufacture, and market robotic technologies and equipment. Many build specialized bots of all shapes that can do practical tasks, such as transporting heavy loads or inspecting sewage pipes.
Today, however, things are mostly for show. Meters away from where parents and children are queued up to buy the robotic dog, two staffers teach youngsters how to make a quadrupedal robot walk up a flight of stairs. Farther along, a tense battle breaks out between two remote-controlled robots firing water beads at each other, as boys and girls cheer them on from around a temporary ring. (A staffer declares the duel a draw.)
Showcases like this are important, because they invite the public to experience robots up close. Some of China’s most prominent robotics companies are building humanoids. These machines “can free people from physical work and mundane chores,” says Yang Duan, a product manager at DexForce, which is at the carnival exhibiting a model that can make coffee. A few booths down, a pair of robotic arms attempts to fold a basket of T-shirts.
Robots in many forms—including humanoid ones—entertained the public and demonstrated their skills.
Exposure matters, because elsewhere humanoids’ progress has been slow, marred by safety challenges due to their heft and need to balance on two legs. High prices and short battery life have also limited their appeal. Plenty of roboticists are skeptical that a human form is the best shape for a robot to take.
But Chinese firms are pushing forward and showing off their latest models. As this carnival takes place in Shanghai, shopping malls and tourist attractions in several other Chinese cities host humanoids that perform for crowds. In Beijing, bipedal robots are running half-marathons. The PR campaign seems to be winning over hearts and minds—at least on this particular weekend in Shanghai.
Applause rings out from the festival’s main tent. There, a humanoid wearing a blinged-out top is showing off a martial arts style known as drunken boxing as a fellow humanoid performs a front flip to woo the crowd. Alongside the stage, a squad of small robotic lions are lined up waiting to perform.
The audience can’t get enough. They chant: “More, more, more.”
You Xiaoying is a London-based freelance journalist focusing on China.
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