China’s humanoid robot industry continues to broaden its range of applications. From industrial manufacturing to the consumer market, an increasing number of companies are introducing new models designed for different scenarios. Most recently, UBTECH unveiled the U1, a full-sized humanoid robot developed specifically for consumer use.

According to the company, pre-orders exceeded 5,000 units in less than three weeks, surpassing the annual sales of its full-sized humanoid robots in 2025.

Meanwhile, UBTECH also announced plans to expand its production capacity for industrial humanoid robots. Today, industrial deployment and consumer applications have become two major growth pillars for the Chinese humanoid robot market.

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Chinese humanoid robots expand into the consumer market

For many years, humanoid robots were primarily used in manufacturing, research and education. More recently, however, consumer-oriented products have become increasingly common. Applications related to companionship, education and home services are also gaining momentum.

UBTECH’s U1 has been designed for companion use and is available in several versions. According to the company, the robot has already received more than 5,000 pre-orders. At the same time, other manufacturers are introducing robots aimed at household and educational applications.

As a result, the growing product portfolio continues to broaden the range of consumer applications for the Chinese humanoid robot.

China’s humanoid robot industry continues to grow

Industrial applications remain one of the sector’s most important areas of development.

UBTECH is continuing to expand its Walker S product line while increasing its manufacturing capacity. Today, humanoid robots are already being deployed in industrial operations such as material handling, loading, unloading and quality inspection.

Meanwhile, companies use data collected from industrial environments to train artificial intelligence models and improve robot performance. It also supports continuous product development and technological innovation.

Companies adopt different development strategies

Today, Chinese robotics companies are pursuing different strategies according to their business objectives and target markets.

UBTECH is developing both industrial humanoid robots and consumer products. Meanwhile, Unitree continues to scale up production while offering more affordable models. AgiBot, for its part, is investing in the development of robots, software platforms and a broader technology ecosystem.

Although their approaches differ, these companies are collectively expanding China’s humanoid robot industry across manufacturing, consumer markets, education and scientific research.

Applications continue to diversify

The application scenarios for humanoid robots continue to expand across China.

Beyond manufacturing, new products are increasingly appearing in personal services, companionship, education, commercial services and data collection. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence, embodied AI and robotics technologies continue to accelerate this evolution.

Today, the Chinese humanoid robot operates far beyond factories. It is gradually finding applications across industry, services, education and many other sectors.

STAiiRS

STAiiRS closely follows the evolution of the Chinese humanoid robot, artificial intelligence and China’s manufacturing industry, helping international companies better understand technological innovation and market developments.

Through continuous monitoring of emerging technologies, application scenarios and corporate strategies, STAiiRS supports international brands in understanding the Chinese market and identifying new business opportunities.