Honor Robot's debut: 4m/s runs wild to set a new record, and the AI ecological ambition is fully exposed
It is not a speed gimmick, but a terminal platform layout that fully integrates AI computing power, perception fusion, and edge computing
On May 28, 2025, Li Jian, CEO of Honor, announced in a high-profile manner at the Honor 400 series new product launch conference that the company officially entered the field of robotics and released the first robot with high-speed movement ability, with a running speed of up to 4 meters per second, setting a new industry record. This breakthrough not only attracted widespread attention at the technical level, but also marked another important step for Honor in the construction of the AI terminal ecosystem. Below, China Exportsemi will interpret it in detail.
Ⅰ Technological breakthroughs: from motion control to multi-modal intelligent fusion
The speed of 4m/s of the Honor robot is not simply the pursuit of "fast", but the result of the co-evolution of AI algorithms, perception systems and edge computing capabilities.
1. High-performance motion control system
The Honor robot is equipped with a self-developed motion control architecture, and the core relies on a dynamic optimization algorithm based on neural networks. The algorithm can analyze ground feedback, inertial information and visual data in real time, and adaptively adjust the gait through deep reinforcement learning to achieve efficient steady-state running. According to Honor's technical team, it uses a multi-axis synchronous drive system, with an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and high-precision actuators to effectively reduce latency and oscillation.
2. Multimodal perception fusion system
The robot integrates speech recognition, image recognition, environment mapping (SLAM) and multi-sensor fusion (such as LiDAR and RGBD cameras) to support high-accuracy recognition of people, obstacles, and instructions in dynamic environments. Honor emphasized that the system integrates a self-developed semantic understanding engine, which can realize the context understanding of user commands and improve the human-computer interaction experience.
3. Edge computing platform support
The edge computing platform used by HONOR Robotics integrates a self-developed NPU (neural network processing unit) and an efficient AI accelerator, which has local real-time reasoning and decision-making capabilities to reduce dependence on the cloud. This capability is particularly critical for real-time response in high-speed motion. According to Honor, the power consumption of its AI chip unit is controlled within 15W, ensuring a balance in the energy efficiency ratio.
Pictured: The debut of the Honor robot
Ⅱ Strategic layout: the key node of the AI terminal ecosystem
The launch of Honor's robotics business is not accidental, but an important part of its "alpha strategy". According to the official introduction, the strategic plan is to invest $10 billion in the next five years, aiming to build a global AI terminal ecosystem, covering multi-terminal scenarios from smartphones, wearable devices, to home agents, robots, etc.
1. Transform from a smart terminal manufacturer to an AI platform company
Honor originally started with smartphones, but in recent years, it has continued to increase its weight in the field of AI, and the entry into the robot business means that it is moving towards a "platform enterprise". By building a unified AI base across devices and scenarios, Honor strives to build a terminal ecosystem that can collaborate on intelligent interaction, device linkage, and data sharing.
2. Create an industrial closed loop of software and hardware collaboration
As an important form of AI terminal, the hardware platform (sensors, chips, motors, etc.) behind the robot and the software platform (AI algorithm, operating system, and middle platform architecture) complement each other. HONOR is promoting the deep integration of the robotics business with its AI OS platform, HONOR's self-developed chips, and IoT connection technology to form a closed-loop ecosystem from chips to applications. This move not only improves R&D efficiency, but is also expected to drive the coordinated development of the upstream and downstream of the supply chain.
Ⅲ Market Insight: Huge potential and severe challenges coexist
According to data from market research institute Allied Market Research, the global intelligent robot market is expected to exceed $258.5 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 25%. As one of the most active markets for the development of robots in the world, China is also regarded as an important soil for the next round of AI terminal outbreaks.
1. Scenario-driven demand growth
From family companionship, intelligent security, to medical care, and education assistance, robots are accelerating their "sinking" to more application scenarios. The high-speed movement and intelligent perception capabilities of the HONOR robot make it have the potential for extensive expansion in the fields of home patrol, interactive guidance, and emergency response.
2. Compete with international giants
At present, Tesla (Optimus), Boston Dynamics (Atlas), Figure AI and other companies have been in the field of humanoid robots for many years of technical precipitation, with strong technical barriers and capital support. Although Honor started a little late, it has certain opportunities for differentiation by virtue of its accumulation in terminal system optimization, computing power control and consumer ecology. However, it still needs to face multiple challenges such as algorithm security, mechanical redundancy design, and mass manufacturing.
Ⅳ Talent strategy: the basic project of new industry incubation
Behind the technological innovation is inseparable from the support of talents. According to public information, Honor has set up a special new industry incubation department and launched a campus and social recruitment plan related to robotics. The recruitment positions cover key directions such as mechanical structure design, perception algorithms, embedded development, and system integration.
In addition, HONOR is also establishing joint laboratories with a number of universities and research institutes to promote basic algorithm research and the transformation of cutting-edge technologies. For example, its recent collaboration with an artificial intelligence research center at Tsinghua University focuses on the optimization of perception and understanding models based on the Transformer architecture, aiming to improve the adaptability of robots to complex semantic environments.
Pictured: Honor announced the launch of the Global Million Eagles program
Ⅴ Development prospects: the possibility of reconstructing the competition pattern of AI terminals
The "4m/s" of HONOR Robot is not the end, but a node in the ecological evolution of its AI terminal. In the future, the platform may be expanded into a general-purpose AI chassis with modular capabilities to support applications in multiple scenarios such as education, commercial, and logistics. At the same time, Honor also positions its robot platform as a verification carrier for the AI capabilities of its own systems, which will help promote the performance measurement and optimization iteration of self-developed chips, AI OS, and distributed computing platforms.
From this point of view, the Honor robot is more like the epitome of the integration of its AI strategy and technology stack, and its significance goes far beyond a single product launch. In the context of the fierce game of global AI terminal ecology, Honor's "wild run" not only demonstrates its technical strength, but also reflects its ecological ambition and long-term layout with robots as nodes.
Conclusion:
Behind the high-speed running of the Honor robot is the co-evolution of a set of AI capabilities, computing platforms, perception systems, and ecological logic. This is not only a technology show, but also a positive test of the future form of AI terminals. In the future, whether this platform can become an important fulcrum of the AI terminal ecosystem deserves the continuous attention of the whole industry.
