Lead

Recently, a production workshop at Mercedes-Benz's Berlin facility has sparked heated discussions. A humanoid robot named Apollo is performing intricate operations, and Benz aims to achieve robot-assisted vehicle production within five years. From Tesla's initial unveiling of its humanoid robot to the demonstrations by Unitree robots, alongside robot technology companies competing in this field, various automakers have also joined the fray: Xiaomi, Xpeng, NIO, and other car companies have announced their entry into the humanoid robot market.

Produced by|Heyan Yueche Studio

Written by|Cai Jialun

Edited by|He Zi

From Tesla's Optimus to Xpeng's Iron, from GAC's GoMate to Xiaomi's CyberOne, car companies are entering the humanoid robot market with unprecedented momentum. On March 18th, Changan Automobile revealed it was publicly sourcing suppliers for its humanoid robot R&D project; on the same day, Yin Tongyue, Chairman of Chery Holding, stated they would accelerate the formation of a humanoid robot industrial cluster. This cross-border move is not only an inevitable outcome of the 'explosive' development of AI and robot technology but also a strategic position for car companies to compete for dominance in the future intelligent ecosystem.

△Unitree's G1 humanoid robot shines on the Spring Festival Gala stage

Are Humanoid Robots Still Far from Us?

Robots once confined to science fiction movies carry many people's visions for future life. With the advancement of AI technology, humanoid robots have transitioned from the laboratory to the nascent stages of commercialization. The humanoid robot first made its debut at Tesla's conference, and Tesla's Optimus has already achieved basic user interaction. From a technical standpoint, Tesla's Optimus employs the visual neural network algorithm of Tesla's FSD autonomous driving system to achieve dynamic obstacle avoidance and path planning in complex environments, closely mirroring the algorithm used in Tesla's automotive autonomous driving system. Thus, car companies continuously pursuing autonomous driving technology actually possess inherent advantages.

Recently, He Xiaopeng, the founder of Xpeng Motors, revealed that Xpeng's Iron humanoid robot has been deployed in the Guangzhou factory and plans to achieve mass production with L3 initial capabilities by 2026. It has been less than five months since the Xpeng AI Technology Day event last November, and Xpeng Iron has already demonstrated practical value, which is also attributed to the support of Xpeng's AI Eagle Eye vision system and AI end-to-end large model technology. The 'brain' of the Xpeng robot utilizes a self-developed Turing AI chip with a computing power of up to 3000 T, capable of 720° environmental perception without dead angles.

△Tesla's Optimus utilizes the visual neural network algorithm of Tesla's FSD autonomous driving system

GAC launched its third-generation self-developed humanoid robot GoMate in 2024, incorporating GAC's self-developed pure vision autonomous driving algorithm. The application of cloud-based multimodal large models enables the robot to respond to complex voice commands at the millimeter level with swiftness. Even the all-solid-state battery, which has yet to be mass-produced in the automotive field, is utilized in humanoid robots, boasting an endurance of up to 6 hours. Xiaomi's robot team announced on February 23rd this year that its full-size humanoid bionic robot CyberOne has entered the manufacturing production line for phased landing tests. The robot is equipped with multiple self-developed chips and supports end-to-end large models. There is no doubt that the core technology is deeply rooted in Xiaomi's accumulations in the field of smart cars. The significant progress made by major car companies in the realm of humanoid robots indicates that humanoid robots have seen marked improvements in perception, decision-making, and interaction capabilities. It is merely a matter of time before they become commercially available and eventually enter millions of households.

△GAC's humanoid robot GoMate is equipped with an all-solid-state battery

The Long Road Ahead for Car Companies in Creating 'Humans'

Although major car companies are continually making breakthroughs in humanoid robot technology, they still confront various commercialization challenges. In terms of intelligence, while car companies can seemingly repurpose autonomous driving algorithms indefinitely, dynamic obstacle avoidance and multi-task coordination in complex environments still require further optimization. After all, the scenarios faced by smart cars and humanoid robots are slightly different. The latter can handle mechanized production scenarios like factory assembly lines. However, if used in households, facing extremely complex scenarios and multiple instructions, the current technical prowess of humanoid robots is still far from sufficient. Although Xiaomi's robot CyberOne can currently perceive 45 types of human tones and emotions, it is still challenging to achieve seamless interactions such as emotion recognition and natural language understanding. It will be a significant hurdle for humanoid robots to handle household chores. Unitree's H1 robot, with only 19 degrees of freedom, is unlikely to manage tasks like storing and organizing, chopping vegetables, or even cooking. Even mechanized work like assembling parts seems daunting.

Secondly, the cost issue is also a significant barrier hindering the mass production of humanoid robots. The selling price of Unitree Technology's H1 humanoid robot is 650,000 yuan, and the G1 humanoid robot is 99,000 yuan, which is unrealistic for most ordinary families. Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot is expected to be priced between $20,000 and $30,000, and Musk stated that its cost is expected to drop to $10,000 in the future. For now, robots are still exclusive toys for the wealthy.

△The current cost issue of humanoid robots limits their development speed

Most new energy vehicles still suffer from range anxiety, and this problem also extends to humanoid robots. Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus currently has an endurance of only 4 hours, and although GAC's GoMate is equipped with the industry's strongest all-solid-state battery, its endurance is only 6 hours, far from meeting the demand for round-the-clock operation. Additionally, if robots truly enter households, the risk of privacy leakage will be a contentious issue between enterprises and consumers.

Commentary

The ambitions of most car companies extend beyond industrial scenarios, hoping to create humanoid robots that can seamlessly integrate into ordinary households like cars. However, the transition of humanoid robots from 'tools' to 'partners' necessitates technological leaps and the enhancement of the industrial chain. As Wang Xingxing, the founder of Unitree Technology, predicts, the launch of household humanoid robots will be slower than that of industrial robots and is not something that can be achieved in the next two or three years. Nonetheless, as core components gradually become localized and the integration of AI large models and robot algorithms continues to increase, humanoid robots will eventually emerge from laboratories and factories, gradually entering households.

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