by Raquel

03/22/2025

It seems like science fiction - China launches this humanoid robot to help you with everyday tasks for $38,000 - you can reserve it now

Picture this: a humanoid robot serving you a drink at your favorite bar (just like Michael Sheen’s character in the movie Passengers). Another one skillfully directing traffic, and at the bank or hospital, a machine that looks human greets you.

So, how long until we see this vision come to life? That’s still a mystery. And we can’t yet predict the hurdles that might pop up along the way. But one thing’s certain—the race to develop humanoid robots is heating up. And in this global competition, U.S. and Chinese companies are leading the charge, with China’s UBTech Robotics making some big moves that aren’t going unnoticed. In fact, looks like the bots are on their way!

Tien Kung Xingzhe, the new IT girl

The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center and UBTech Robotics have introduced Tien Kung Xingzhe, a humanoid robot roughly the size of an adult. From the images, it’s clear this robot has a very futuristic look (straight out of an I, Robot movie adaptation). With a sleek metallic torso in gray and black, articulated arms, and a head that’s facial-feature-free, it seems an ideation by Isaac Asimov rather than a real life machine. But there’s more than just good looks. This robot comes with several impressive features:

• Impressive biomimicry: Its design and movements are crafted to closely mimic those of a human, helping it engage more naturally with its surroundings.
• Top-tier performance and efficiency: Built to work with pinpoint accuracy and stability in research settings, it ensures dependable and consistent results every time.
• Super adaptable: It can easily integrate with extra modules like depth cameras, LiDAR, force sensors, seven-degree-of-freedom collaborative arms, and five-finger robotic hands, making it ready to meet a wide variety of needs.
• Stability at its finest: It moves with ease, even across challenging surfaces like mountains, stairs, sand, or snow, maintaining perfect balance and top-notch performance.
• Built tough: Certain parts of the robot are made from titanium alloy, giving it a lighter weight without sacrificing durability or strength.

The Tien Kung Xingzhe boasts a bionic torso setup and an anthropomorphic motion control system, enabling it to move with impressive fluidity. With 20 degrees of freedom (DOF), it has 20 points of articulation that help it replicate human movements with remarkable accuracy–and some Uncanny Valleyvibes. The more degrees of freedom a robot has, the smoother and more lifelike its movements become.

For those of us who grew up playing The Sims 2 on the computer, Tien Kung Xingzhe greatly resembles Servo, the robot that could be created (with great mechanic skills) or bought and then added as another member of your household.

A Research Robot

While robotics have come a long way, the humanoid robots we see in sci-fi are still a distant dream for most of us. That’s why the Tien Kung Xingzhe is built with the research world in mind. Priced at 299,000 yuan ($41,368 USD), it’s affordable enough for development centers and universities to get their hands on. True to its purpose, it has an open design, giving easy access to its motors, sensors, and motion control systems. Plus, it comes with documentation and sample code to help make customization and new application development a breeze.

Not much longer to wait. For those eager to see humanoid robotics evolve, the Tien Kung Xingzhe is already up for pre-order in China, with deliveries set to start in the second quarter of this year. If everything stays on track, a Chinese company could beat several U.S.-based competitors to the punch.

Granted, we’re comparing apples and oranges: while the Tien Kung Xingzhe is geared toward research, companies like Tesla with its Optimus robot are aiming to mass-produce humanoids for industrial use. Still, when it comes to availability and early adoption, China is definitely taking some leaping strikes!