New interactive robot capable of riding bike set to serve in multiple scenarios

A brand-new quick-thinking interactive humanoid robot has caught wide attention after being unveiled in Shanghai on Tuesday for its wide range of performance capabilities, with the robot capable of riding a bicycle and even carrying out delicate tasks such as using a needle and thread.

The newly-launched robot is the latest in a series of eye-catching breakthroughs for China's robotics industry as the sector continues its rapid development.

The 1.3-meter-tall robot has also unlocked a range of new athletic skills, including riding a scooter and operating a self-balancing scooter with ease.

Featuring 28 different degrees of freedom (DOF), the robot is also equipped with a multimodal interaction model, enabling millisecond-level interactive responses.

It can also accurately judge and respond to human facial expressions and vocal tones. When asked, the robot says its purpose is to chat with its human counterparts, solve problems, and simply "make life more fun."

Peng Zhihui, co-founder of the company responsible for the new robot, stressed there is still a way to go to convincingly replicate the emotional level of a human.

"I believe the biggest challenge is enabling the robot to possess a level of intelligence as agile as that of a human. To achieve this, we need to make technological breakthroughs in three areas - motion intelligence, interactive intelligence, and operational intelligence," said Peng.

Additionally, the new robot has initially developed 'zero-shot' generalization capabilities for manipulating objects based on a large embodied model, which means it can learn to solve problems and respond to new challenges or tasks based on its own intuition.

For example, it can learn to pour water simply by watching videos of humans doing so, demonstrating the ability to extrapolate from learned tasks.

In addition, the robot can also recognize different types of cups without requiring repeated training for different shapes or sizes, marking a significant step toward the generalization and openness of embodied intelligence.

Many experts believe the robot has the potential to be utilized in various application scenarios in the future, including in the health care and service sectors, or may even be deployed to provide companionship in people's homes.

New interactive robot capable of riding bike set to serve in multiple scenarios

Russia on Friday reported seizing eight cities and towns over the past week, while Ukraine claimed on the same day that its forces had stabilized the situation in the direction of Kupyansk, according to two separate statements released by the two sides.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its latest report that over the past week, its forces had controlled eight cities and towns, including Seversk, over the past week in the special military operation zone.

It also said that in response to Ukraine's attacks on the civilian facilities in Russia, the Russian armed forces had launched one large-scale attack and five coordinated attacks from Dec 6 to Dec 12.

The targets included Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises and their associated fuel and energy facilities, transportation infrastructure, and airports and ports used for Ukrainian military operations, as well as temporary deployment points of the Ukrainian armed forces and foreign mercenaries.

The National Guard of Ukraine reported advances in the direction of Kupyansk, controlling two settlements and multiple districts in the northern part of the city and cutting off Russia's supply lines to the strategic hub.

It said the situation in the direction of Kupyansk had been stabilized.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Friday that its forces had attacked a Russian oil refinery in the Yaroslavl region, aiming to cut off the Russian military's fuel supply chain.

It also said that on the same day, the Ukrainian forces had launched multiple attacks in the direction of Donetsk, destroying a Russian ammunition depot and hitting a concentration site of Russian personnel.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday on X that he had visited the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine.

During the visit, he met with the Ukrainian troops to mark the Land Forces Day and presented state awards to them.

Kupyansk, a key rail and road logistics hub, has seen intense battles since the autumn of 2024. In November this year, the Russian forces claimed that they had captured the city, according to local media reports.

Russia reports seizing settlements as Ukraine claims gains in direction of Kupyansk