Effective communication often originates from a deep-seated respect for the core of technology. The progression of Embodied AI is not a contest to dominate the communication arena. All enduring and impactful stories are etched in the countless iterations of technological advancements, not in fleeting social media posts. The industry's ultimate goal is to uphold the integrity of technology amidst the hype and distractions, and to stay true to the spirit of innovation amidst the tides of capital.

Editor: Lv Xinyi

Before we delve into the main topic, let's indulge in a bit of industry gossip.

The public relations landscape for Embodied AI has taken an unexpected turn, moving away from mere attention-seeking. Recently, a flurry of media reports across various online platforms claimed that 'Independent Variable's open-source model has a zero success rate.' Even ordinary social media users, like those using the anonymous handle 'momo,' have jumped on the bandwagon, engaging in widespread criticism. The key points of this criticism are illustrated in the following image:

Image source: Social media screenshot

After Independent Variable officially debunked these rumors, RoboChallenge, the official evaluation platform, swiftly followed suit with a refutation across all channels. Unfortunately, the matter didn't end there, as a slew of similar articles continued to surface when searching for relevant keywords.

Regarding this incident, a PR firm in the industry told the Embodied AI Research Society that 'such incidents are typically orchestrated and premeditated.' The industry insider spoke vaguely but made it clear that these incidents were not the result of individual, objective judgments. 'After all, you can spot the traces of paid commenters in the comment section; this tactic is quite common,' they noted.

Image source: Screenshot

As for why Independent Variable is the target of such criticism this time, it's not difficult to understand. After all, technological prowess invites skepticism, and strong model capabilities attract criticism... (XPENG Robotics can surely relate to this.)

This incident mirrors our observations during a visit earlier this year. At that time, industry insiders already pointed out the roughness of PR behaviors.

'Doesn't Embodied AI now resemble autonomous driving from back then?'

'The industry trend is quite peculiar; both investors and companies are in a rush, lacking overall patience.'

'There's no technological backwardness in Embodied AI; it's normal for different technological routes to be at varying stages of development. However, the industry now struggles to recognize this, fearing being left behind by competitors, leading to a situation of blind comparison.'

It's evident that the reflections from industry insiders in Embodied AI, though from different perspectives and starting points, share a common underlying logic: the atmosphere in the Embodied AI industry is overly impatient.

At its core, this impatience stems from companies being trapped in a 'fear of falling behind' mentality, engaging in asymmetric comparisons based on one-sided performance metrics, and fostering a significant amount of ineffective competition that deviates from the essence of technology. Moreover, amidst the back-and-forth and one-upmanship among companies, increasingly grand 'cyber narratives' and 'criticism' are being cultivated.

Doesn't this scenario remind you of autonomous driving?

It's clear that compared to the convergence of technological routes, Embodied AI may urgently need the convergence of publicity efforts. After all, this is a program already ingrained in the DNA of Embodied AI. Unlike small home appliances that require heavy promotion, the rapid iteration characteristic of this industry forces companies to seize every collective functional upgrade in the industry; otherwise, they risk being forgotten by consumers.

The value curve of Embodied AI always places technological advancement as the horizontal axis, not the volume of communication as the vertical axis. When companies become obsessed with implicit benchmarking against competitors, they are actually eroding the technological depth that requires generational accumulation with communication attention. This gamble of substituting communication for R&D will ultimately deplete the industry's most precious asset: 'trust.'

Rough publicity efforts often lead to misjudgments

After Elon Musk released a video of Optimus running in a human-like manner, sparking widespread internet discussion, Figure quickly followed suit and showcased its running capabilities. As countless people compared their gaits, it inadvertently highlighted how粗糙 (rough, here it means lacking in sophistication or depth) the publicity efforts in the current Embodied AI field are.

Image source: Social media screenshot

In simple terms, the main publicity theme for Optimus and Figure was 'following the trend.' Under the influence of traffic, companies attempt to bundle and prove their strength through superficial technological comparisons. However, due to the lack of industry standards, although they nominally showcase the same technology, the actual execution effects vary greatly.

A more intuitive example is that after Unitree Technology achieved the first side flip, several humanoid robot manufacturers were busy 'flipping' during that period—side flips, front flips, backflips, continuous backflips; there were not many ways left for humanoid robots to flip. After Zhongqing, known for its gait, demonstrated straight-knee walking in public demonstrations, multiple companies also started taking their humanoid robots outdoors.

Currently, original manufacturers have 'thoroughly implemented' this strategy.

Embodied AI itself is not directly perceivable or easily understandable. Due to the lack of widespread user experience, it is even harder to compare than large language model products. Currently, while large models have authoritative benchmarks like Arena for multi-dimensional comparisons, Embodied AI is far from mature in this regard. This also makes people's perception of the capabilities of Embodied AI models vague.

So, why engage in the same publicity efforts?

Because predecessors have blazed a trail called 'finding the traffic password.' If we look back at the 'traffic password,' we will find that there is no real traffic, only real capabilities. Historical experience shows that all traffic magic will eventually fade away. The true industry status of Unitree and Zhongqing does not come from promotional videos with millions of views but from the initiative in hardware self-research and the excellence of core algorithms.

The hard technological indicators hidden behind video frame rates are the true passes for traversing industry cycles. When the marketing fireworks disperse, only the technological foundation can carry the commercial future.

Communication cannot determine status

Capabilities are not found in 'verbal battles'

Besides the trend of homogenized publicity efforts, to avoid the chaos of the autonomous driving ending, there are also less-discussed tactics in this 'gossip.' The last industry to refute 'black PR' was new energy vehicles, especially in the field of intelligent driving.

However, it is regrettable that 'black PR' entered the new energy vehicle and Embodied AI fields at different stages. The former had already reached a certain level of contention, or in other words, had matured to the point of being screened by the market; the impact of black PR was merely further squeezing market share in the existing market. However, the Embodied AI field is just starting; frankly, it's difficult for startups to even climb the technological ladder, let alone spare energy to engage in mutual sabotage. The Embodied AI field is an industry where 'many hands make light work,' requiring joint efforts from model route exploration to dataset collection and open-sourcing, and then to industry chain collaboration, rather than 'verbal battles' on social media. In fact, putting aside 'black PR,' looking deeper, the driving force behind these publicity tactics is 'impatience.' No one can predict when capital will shift direction. In a prosperous scenario, communication momentum can not only be seen by investors but also enhance commercial conversion through communication volume, helping to secure a footing before the bubble bursts.

However, this is not a reasonable or sustainable logic in the long run. A more fitting communication logic for technology-driven enterprise development should be 'technology foundation-natural overflow.'

DeepSeek is a typical example. In early 2024, the large model track shifted from 'parameter competition' to 'application competition.' On one hand, model sizes were compared, and on the other hand, commercialization routes were pitted against each other. Amidst the fervor, software upgrades labeled as large models were ubiquitous in the market.

From a rearview mirror perspective, the large model hype was as intense then as it is calm now. Large models with difficult-to-fill commercial gaps were gradually washed out, leaving behind well-funded and technologically robust models from major players.

During that heated period, DeepSeek quietly remained in the background. Its brief hibernation did not conceal its brilliance; instead, DeepSeek, through algorithm optimization, became the first ray of light after the calm, even altering the competitive gap in large models.

It's evident that with a sufficient technological foundation, communication will naturally follow.

Effective communication often originates from a deep-seated respect for the core of technology. The progression of Embodied AI is not a short video competition. All enduring and impactful stories are etched in the countless iterations of material fatigue testing and in every late night of code refactoring, not in fleeting social media posts. The industry's ultimate goal is to uphold the integrity of technology amidst the hype and distractions, and to stay true to the spirit of innovation amidst the tides of capital.