![\"Unitree's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/12860892.webp\")
<\/p>\nWith IFA expanding its showcase of emerging technologies such as AI and robotics, Chinese-made robots fist-bumped guests, danced, boxed and performed household chores throughout the exhibition hall.<\/p>\n
\n A humanoid robot CyberOne exchanges a fist bump with a visitor at the Xiaomi booth at IFA 2026 in Berlin on Sept. 4.
\n KIM IN-KYOUNG\n <\/p>\n
BERLIN \u2014 When a visitor formed half of a heart with their hand, Xiaomi\u2019s humanoid robot CyberOne reached out its arm and completed the other half. When another guest put out their fist for a first bump, the robot obliged.<\/p>\n
Although CyberOne was present at Xiaomi\u2019s booth at IFA 2026, which opened in Berlin on Friday, its usual workplace is at an EV factory. The robot\u2019s success rate for fastening nuts is now 98 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are testing its potential for use on manufacturing floors,\u201d a Xiaomi spokesperson said, adding that the company is accelerating efforts to automate its factories.<\/p>\n
With IFA expanding its showcase of emerging technologies such as AI and robotics, Chinese-made robots were displayed prominently throughout the exhibition hall. This year\u2019s IFA Next, a dedicated innovation and startups ground, was the largest humanoid robot exhibition in the show\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Unitree’s robots demonstrate a range of movements, including dancing and boxing.
\n KIM IN-KYOUNG\n <\/p>\n
From the dance stage to factory floor<\/p>\n
Several units of G1, Unitree\u2019s humanoid model, danced in formation to music. Their movements were not always smooth, with some robots swaying unsteadily or struggling to keep pace with one another. Those that had earlier demonstrated their boxing capabilities sat off to the side, resting while the others danced.<\/p>\n
Dobot\u2019s booth featured another dancing robot \u2014 this one shaped like a panda. Elsewhere, TCL\u2019s household robot, AiMe, tracked visitors\u2019 hand gestures with its gaze; when they waved, it waved back. Hisense\u2019s home robot roamed the floor, communicating with visitors through facial expressions on its screen.<\/p>\n
Industrial robots also stood out. Pudu Robotics\u2019 four-legged D5, familiar in Korea as a service robot, demonstrated its ability to inspect and patrol facilities by navigating stairs and slopes.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s D7, designed for manufacturing and logistics work such as moving materials and retrieving and assembling items from high shelves, was also on display. A Pudu spokesperson said that this marked the robot\u2019s European debut.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s humanoid robot production is predicted to grow 94 percent this year, with the market to reach 24 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) next year, according to research firm TrendForce.<\/p>\n
![\"Roborock](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/12860894.webp\")
<\/p>\n
\n Roborock displays the Saros Z70, a vacuum fitted with a robotic arm that can pick up socks or slippers left on the floor and move them aside.
\n KIM IN-KYOUNG\n <\/p>\n
![\"Children](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/12860893.webp\")
<\/p>\n
\n Children watch robots dancing at IFA 2026 in Berlin on Sept. 4.
\n KIM IN-KYOUNG\n <\/p>\n
First robot to enter the home: The vacuum<\/p>\n
IFA 2026 showed how the robot vacuum \u2014 already a fixture in many homes \u2014 has continued to evolve.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s Dreame unveiled a new model that switches to a mop mode \u2014 with its roller mop extending up to 8 centimeters (3.15 inches) \u2014 when its AI camera detects liquid spills and uses steam to loosen dried grime. It can also distinguish more than 320 types of objects.<\/p>\n
Roborock, meanwhile, turned to the outdoors. Its Lawn Mower Z1 Lidar can map a garden\u2019s shape, detect obstacles and plot its own path; climb platforms up to eight centimeters high; and move up slopes of roughly 39 degrees.<\/p>\n
But visitors\u2019 reactions were mixed: Some were enthusiastic, while others were wary. As houses vary widely in layout and use and the profitability of household robots remains elusive, those built for manufacturing, commercial use or specialized tasks are spreading faster than their household counterparts.<\/p>\n
\u201c[IFA 2026] features a lot more robots than last year, but it feels like we\u2019re still far from one that can fully take over housework,\u201d a visitor with her two children said. \u201cThey\u2019re still too slow and too expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n
IFA is scheduled to host \u201cRobots on the Runway\u201d\u00a0on Saturday, during which humanoid and quadruped robots from Unitree, AgiBot, Dobot and Deep Robotics will perform backflips, dances and poses on a single stage.<\/p>\n
BY KIM IN-KYOUNG [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]<\/p>\n
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With IFA expanding its showcase of emerging technologies such as AI and robotics, Chinese-made robots fist-bumped guests, danced,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-615032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}