BEIJING — Despite rapid advancements, the widespread adoption of humanoid robots faces a significant hurdle: they are still not as efficient or adaptable as humans, according to industry leaders speaking at the World Robot Conference in Beijing this week. The core challenge lies in refining the technology to match human capabilities in real-world applications.
Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree, whose company recently saw a remarkable 460% surge on its IPO day, highlighted the difficulties humanoid robots encounter when entering the human workforce. He noted that robots require substantial time to learn new skills, creating a bottleneck for the industry. His remarks underscored the ongoing challenges for humanoid robots aiming to integrate seamlessly into human employment, a sentiment reflected in Unitree's stock, which experienced an 18.7% decline on Thursday.
The recent move by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to add foreign-made advanced robotic devices, including humanoids, to a list restricting imports into the U.S. has garnered attention. However, Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, downplayed its immediate impact, stating that the number of humanoid robots currently in use in the U.S. is minimal. "The impact might be in the U.S. is on autonomous mobile robots, which are used in factories that much more than humanoids are," he told CNBC.
Burnstein further explained that companies seeking to enhance efficiency are not prioritizing humanoids. "What I hear from customers in the U.S. [is that] 'we want solutions. We have a problem. We need a solution. We don't care if it's a humanoid. We don't care if it's a traditional robot, a collaborative robot. We don't even care if it's a robot. We need a solution,'" he said. The onus, therefore, falls on humanoid robot manufacturers to demonstrate that their products are not only affordable and safe but also ready for immediate deployment, offering tangible solutions to customer needs.
Keenon, a startup specializing in humanoid robots, is developing solutions for tasks such as handling laundry services in hotels, often in conjunction with simpler delivery robots. COO Wan Bin mentioned that while achieving 50% or even 80% task completion is relatively straightforward, reaching a 99.9% success rate presents a significant engineering and training challenge. Keenon has already shipped over 100,000 robots and anticipates this number to surpass 150,000 units by the end of next year.
