In recent years, embodied intelligence and humanoid robot technology are evolving at an astonishing speed, becoming a new highland for global technology competition. As an integration of a number of cutting-edge cross-cutting technologies, humanoid robots have moved from concept exploration to system integration and application implementation, attracting great attention from global technology giants, universities and start-ups. In this context, the 2025 Zhangjiang Embodied Intelligence Developer Conference and International Humanoid Robot Skills Competition came into being, which has become a key platform for connection technology research and development, scenario verification and industrialization collaboration, and also profoundly demonstrates China's strong momentum in the construction of technology clusters and industrial chain collaboration in this field.
This year's competition brought together top domestic scientific research institutions such as Tsinghua University and Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and joined forces with industry leaders with a valuation of more than 10 billion yuan such as Fourier Intelligence, Kepler Robotics, and Zhiyuan Robotics to build a complete technical matrix covering algorithms, control systems, sensors, actuators and even the whole machine architecture. This collaboration model of deep integration of production, education and research is not only the epitome of the increasingly mature scientific and technological innovation system in China, but also a powerful engine to promote the rapid breakthrough and achievement transformation of the core technology of humanoid robots.
Pictured: 2025 International Humanoid Robot Skills Competition
1. Technological integration is driving "human-like" breakthroughs, and China's solutions are taking shape at an accelerated pace
The reason why humanoid robots are regarded as the "crown jewel of intelligent manufacturing" lies in their high technical complexity and strict requirements for system collaboration capabilities. Its core covers multiple subsystems such as high-performance servo drives, integrated joints, haptic feedback systems, electronic skins, embedded perception and cognitive algorithms, etc., which need to be linked and cooperated in milliseconds.
With the Zhiyuan robot "Baizhiyuan 2.0", which attracted much attention in this competitionFor example, based on its self-developed controller and power system, the company has achieved a performance breakthrough of 1.25 meters and a cruising distance of 10 kilometers for a single-legged robot, demonstrating its strong strength in motion control and energy management. The research team from Tsinghua University has built a control framework with environmental adaptability through in-depth research on the embodied intelligence cognitive model, and realized the autonomous generation and dynamic adjustment of robot action sequences in complex scenes. The integration of these technologies not only improves the stability and flexibility of the robot system, but also accelerates the true restoration of "human-like actions".
According to the MIT Technology Review, there are very few institutions in the world that have the ability to design a complete humanoid robot platform, and China has gradually achieved local leadership in core modules such as electric drive, perception fusion, and multimodal interaction, showing a trend of gradually getting rid of the dependence on overseas high-precision core devices.
2. Shanghai has built an innovation cluster, and Zhangjiang has become the "capital of humanoid robots".
It is no accident that the competition landed in Zhangjiang, Shanghai. As a national independent innovation demonstration zone, Zhangjiang has built a deep technical foundation in the fields of integrated circuits, artificial intelligence and intelligent manufacturing. According to the data released by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, the output value of Shanghai's robot industry will exceed 210 billion yuan in 2023, accounting for about one-third of the country's total, covering the whole industrial chain such as complete machines, core components, and system integration.
Zhangjiang is not only the birthplace of Chinese artificial intelligence "national teams" such as SenseTime and YITU Technology, but also attracts a number of innovative enterprises with global competitiveness in the subdivision track, such as Fourier Intelligence, UBTECH, and Kepler Robotics. With the joint support of industry, capital and policies, it is gradually developing into the most influential "humanoid robot innovation highland" in China and even Asia.
In this event, a number of innovative designs were tested for the first time in real scenarios, including tasks such as crossing rough terrain, walking on gravel piles, obstacle avoidance, etc., and there was also a difficult 3V3 robot football game, which was based on the rules of the RoboCup international competition. These tests are not only a comprehensive test of technical strength, but also provide an operational performance benchmark for the future application of robots in industrial collaboration, disaster relief, home services and other scenarios.
3. The first simulation + entity dual track in China to promote the rapid implementation of algorithms
Different from the traditional robot competition focusing on hardware display, this competition boldly introduces a "simulation + entity" double-line track. This mechanism not only ensures that the algorithm in the R&D stage can be tested and errorized with high frequency and rapid iteration in a high-fidelity simulation environment, but also provides an efficient channel for subsequent transplantation to physical robots. In recent years, institutions such as Alibaba DAMO Academy and SenseTime have frequently verified embodied intelligent control algorithms on simulation platforms, which also confirms the feasibility of this model.
Through this mechanism, many participating teams have achieved rapid conversion from algorithms to products. Among the 100 teams participating in the competition, the final winning project will be directly connected to the "Thousand Units Purchase Plan" and receive industrialization order support, with an amount of up to 10 million yuan, providing substantial support for the start-up team to move from the laboratory to the market. This deep coupling of technology and capital is reshaping a new paradigm of the business model of humanoid robots.
4. China's "core" is strengthening the shortcomings of the industry and moving towards self-reliance in high-end parts
In the process of promoting the closed-loop development of the humanoid robot industry chain, the domestic substitution of core components is particularly crucial. Core devices such as servo motors, joint reducers, and embedded GPUs have long been monopolized by Japanese, German and American companies. Today, local enterprises such as Wasu Robot, Zhongke Yuncong, Siling Robot, Zhaowei Electromechanical and other enterprises have achieved technological breakthroughs in the fields of reducers, force control modules, AI chips, etc., providing more cost-effective and local controllable key support for humanoid robots.
According to the forecast report released by CICC in 2024, by 2027, the market size of Chinese humanoid robots will reach 81.2 billion yuan, the core parts market will reach 23.4 billion yuan, and the related application system market will reach 162.4 billion yuan. This trend means that China must achieve autonomy and controllability at key nodes such as chips, algorithms, and structural design, rather than relying on breakthroughs in a single technical link. At present, local chip companies represented by BYD Semiconductor, Cambrian, and Horizon have increased the layout of embedded computing platforms and edge AI chips for humanoid robots, laying a solid foundation for the formation of a complete "domestic technology stack" in the future.
5. Sustainable development still needs to be tackled: collaborative ecology, talent training and standard construction
Despite the industry's promising, humanoid robots still face multiple challenges. The first is that system-level intelligence still needs to be strengthened. At present, most products still rely on preset actions and fixed scene recognition, and how to achieve generalized and multi-task human-computer interaction capabilities still requires deeper algorithm integration and computing power support.
Secondly, the industrial chain collaboration is still not mature enough, from the core components to the integration of the whole machine, and then to the system application, there is a lack of unified interfaces and standards. On the manufacturing side, how to engineer and productize scientific research results also requires the support of large-scale production processes and supply chain capabilities.
In addition, the problem of talent is becoming increasingly prominent. There is a serious imbalance between the supply and demand of talents in the fields of high-level control algorithms, structural bionic design, and AI perception fusion. In the future, it is necessary to strengthen the cultivation of interdisciplinary talents and build a multidisciplinary education system covering artificial intelligence, mechanical design, biomechanics, control theory and other disciplines.
6. Conclusion: China's plan, the world expects
The successful holding of the 2025 Zhangjiang Embodied Intelligence Developer Conference and International Humanoid Robot Skills Competition marks a key step in China's humanoid robot technology and industrial development. The in-depth cooperation between Tsinghua University, Beihang University and other universities and industrial giants has not only built a Chinese plan for technological breakthroughs, but also laid a solid foundation for building a global industrial ecology.
It is foreseeable that in the future, with the gradual maturity of key technologies, the multi-dimensional support of policies and capital, and the continuous improvement of the industrial ecology, China will play an increasingly important role in the field of global humanoid robots, contributing unique Chinese wisdom and strength to the intelligent evolution of all human society.
