Robots that are not only able to run, dance and play soccer, but also sort parts on an assembly line or play a game of mahjong were once fantasies confined to science fiction, but are now a reality showcased at the recent World Robot Conference (WRC 2025) in Beijing. Over 200 domestic and international robotics companies showcased more than 1,500 exhibits, with over 100 new products making their debut. Among the participants were 50 humanoid robot companies, the highest number among similar exhibitions worldwide. Qiao Hong, President of the World Robot Cooperation Organization, highlighted cognition, decision making and safety as key future development trends for embodied intelligent robots.
The Conference showed rapidly advancing embodied intelligence technology, with humanoid robots as the highlight, demonstrating significant progress achieved globally and particularly in China, while the event also served to illuminate a wide range of future commercial applications. Themed “Making Robots Smarter, Making Embodied Agents More Intelligent,” the five-day conference that finished last week featured forums, exhibitions, competitions and networking events – with over 200 robotics companies from around the world showcasing their latest innovations, including wheeled robots, collaborative robots and quadruped or hexapod robotic dogs.
Unitree Robotics, based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, brought its latest humanoid R1 and quadrupedal A2 automatons to the conference. A crowd favorite was a boxing match by two of the latest upgraded GI robots. The mechanical boxers punched and defended like real human fighters, while getting up to continue even after being knocked down. Marketing Manager at Unitree Liu Jinda said the sparring demonstration wasn’t just for show. “During boxing, multiple joints need to coordinate with extremely fast reaction times. When subjected to external forces, the robots must quickly regain stability and balance. This practice provides valuable experience for developers to improve robotic performance.”
In the exhibition area of Galaxea AI, visitors only needed to say “Please make the bed,” and the company’s new R1 Lite robot responded by completing the task in a randomly disordered bedroom all by itself. Galaxea AI Chief Scientist Zhao Hang said the key to embodied intelligence robots lies in their “brain” represented by the sophistication of their algorithms. R1 Lite’s Vision-Language-Action model uses a single end-to-end architecture to achieve precise control from visual perception to its sophisticated joints, enabling it to perform highly complex, long-sequence tasks like making a bed.
At a conference forum, Ni Guangnan, Academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), emphasized that combining robots with AI requires elevating robotic intelligence through “brain-eye-action” coordinated systems – enabling automatons to see, understand and act in the real world. Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing said that while current robotic hardware is generally sufficient, their AI capabilities still fall far short of industry needs, and developing sufficient embodied intelligence models will be the most critical task for the industry in the future.
China’s innovations in embodied intelligence are powered by the robust development of its robotics industry. According to data released at the conference, the country’s robotics industry generated nearly CNY240 billion in revenue in 2024. In the first half, industrial robot production in China reached 370,000 units while service robot output hit 8.82 million units, representing year-on-year growth of 35.6% and 25.5%, respectively. China has also been the world’s largest industrial robot application market for 12 consecutive years, with its share of the world’s newly installed robots increasing from 51% in 2023 to 54% in 2024.
Rev Lebaredian, Vice President of Omniverse and simulation technology at Nvidia, said in a speech at a forum that China boasts the world’s largest pool of top-tier graduates in computer science and AI, while holding a distinct advantage in physical-world tech development. This enables the country to produce robots that are both cost-effective and highly efficient, a capability unmatched by other countries. Moreover, China possesses not only manufacturing prowess, but also the unique ability to deploy robots at scale and iterate rapidly. By deploying robots in real-world applications and collecting operational data, Chinese developers can continuously optimize robotic systems.
The embodied intelligence sector is attracting not only AI innovators, but also traditional industrial robotics companies. At WRC 2025, established players like Siasun and Dobot, once focused on robotic arms and autonomous forklifts, now deployed humanoid robots. They are injecting new momentum into the application of embodied intelligence technologies. At the opening ceremony of the conference, the Chinese Institute of Electronics unveiled 10 most promising application scenarios for humanoid robots, such as automotive manufacturing, petrochemical production inspection, emergency response operations, home services and agricultural tasks, the China Daily reports.
