4 rising humanoid robotic startups — Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix, and MagicLab — reveal their merchandise on the CCTV Spring Competition gala
BEIJING, China – China’s most-watched TV present, the annual CCTV Spring Competition gala, on Monday, February 16, showcased the nation’s cutting-edge industrial coverage and Beijing’s push to dominate humanoid robots and the way forward for manufacturing.
4 rising humanoid robotic startups — Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix, and MagicLab — demonstrated their merchandise on the gala, a televised occasion and touchstone for China akin to the Tremendous Bowl for america.
This system’s first three sketches prominently featured humanoid robots, together with a prolonged martial arts demonstration the place over a dozen Unitree humanoids carried out subtle battle sequences waving swords, poles and nunchucks in shut proximity to human kids performers.
The battle sequences included a technically formidable one which imitated the wobbly strikes and backward falls of China’s “drunken boxing” martial arts model, displaying improvements in multi-robot coordination and fault restoration — the place a robotic can rise up after falling down.
This system’s opening sketch additionally prominently featured Bytedance’s AI chatbot Doubao, whereas 4 Noetix humanoid robots appeared alongside human actors in a comedy skit and MagicLab robots carried out a synchronized dance with human performers in the course of the tune “We Are Made in China.”
Inital public choices deliberate
The hype surrounding China’s humanoid robotic sector comes as main gamers together with AgiBot and Unitree put together for preliminary public choices this yr, and home synthetic intelligence startups launch a raft of frontier fashions in the course of the profitable nine-day Lunar New 12 months public vacation.
Final yr’s gala shocked viewers with 16 full-size Unitree humanoids twirling handkerchiefs and dancing in unison with human performers.
Unitree’s founder met President Xi Jinping weeks later at a high-profile tech symposium — the primary of its sort since 2018.
Xi has met 5 robotics startup founders prior to now yr, akin to the 4 electrical automobile and 4 semiconductor entrepreneurs he met in the identical timeframe, giving the nascent sector uncommon visibility.
The CCTV present, which drew 79% of reside TV viewership in China final yr, has for many years been used to spotlight Beijing’s tech ambitions, together with its house program, drones and robotics, mentioned Georg Stieler, Asia managing director and head of robotics and automation at expertise consultancy Stieler.
“What distinguishes the gala from comparable occasions elsewhere is the directness of the pipeline from industrial coverage to primetime spectacle,” Stieler mentioned.
“Firms that seem on the gala stage obtain tangible rewards in authorities orders, investor consideration, and market entry.”
“It’s been only one yr — and the efficiency bounce is placing,” mentioned Stieler, including that the robots’ spectacular movement management confirmed Unitree’s concentrate on growing robotic “brains” – the AI-powered software program that allows them to finish positive motor duties that can be utilized in real-world manufacturing unit settings.
China’s strengths
Behind the spectacle of robots working marathons and executing kung-fu kicks and backflips, China has positioned robotics and AI on the coronary heart of its next-generation AI+ manufacturing technique, betting that productiveness positive factors from automation will offset pressures from its ageing workforce.
“Humanoids bundle plenty of China’s strengths into one narrative: AI functionality, {hardware} provide chain, and manufacturing ambition. They’re additionally probably the most ‘legible’ kind issue for the general public and officers,” mentioned Beijing-based tech analyst Poe Zhao.
“In an early market, consideration turns into a useful resource.”
China accounted for 90% of the roughly 13,000 humanoid robots shipped globally final yr, far forward of U.S. rivals together with Tesla’s Optimus, in line with analysis agency Omdia.
Morgan Stanley initiatives that China’s humanoid gross sales will greater than double to twenty-eight,000 models this yr.
Elon Musk has mentioned he expects his largest competitor to be Chinese language corporations as he pivots Tesla towards a concentrate on embodied AI and its flagship humanoid Optimus.
“Individuals exterior China underestimate China, however China is an ass-kicker subsequent degree,” Musk mentioned final month. – Rappler.com
