China's embodied intelligence endeavors to develop itself from lab concepts to productivity driver

China

China's embodied intelligence endeavors to develop itself from lab concepts to productivity driver

2026-08-20 18:41 Last Updated At：23:07

China's embodied intelligence is endeavoring to develop itself from lab concepts to genuine driver of productivity that can enter production lines and create real value.

Themed "Human-Robot Symbiosis, Production-Demand Convergence," the 2026 edition of the World Robot Conference kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday.

The five-day event has brought together more than 300 exhibitors of over 2,000 innovative products, including more than 50 devices demonstrating robotic operations in educational, household, and home settings.

China's humanoid robotics industry is looking for ways to take robots beyond the showroom and closer to the real world.

"We have a complete production chain, spanning everything from industrial applications to household use. In industrial settings, our robots are already performing tasks such as material handling, feeding, and welding. As we introduce robots into home, we are carefully analyzing user scenarios and needs in order to launch a range of suitable products," said Cong Dachao, strategy director of Haier's home robotics division.

For robots to truly enter the home, what is needed is not only the in-depth development of use cases by Chinese companies, but also open collaboration within the global technology ecosystem.

"We are a Swiss startup. Our core focus is to release affordable but high-quality hands and we open source everything, all the files, all the software, to enable universities and bigger companies, research institutes to develop and research exactly how they want without having to overcome a cost barrier or complex setup," said Kai Stewart, a mechanical engineer at ORCA Dexterity.

In addition to everyday applications, the emergence of dexterous manipulators and exoskeletons demonstrates particular value in mobility assistance and rehabilitation for people with disabilities, allowing the human touch of technology to reach everyone in need of help.

"I was trying how this robot can help you provide the systems when you do movement and in particular when you clench stairs. So if you have to do long distance, in this case stairs, it's pretty responsive," noted Antonio Frisoli, full professor of Engineering Mechanics and Robotics at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna.

China's summer film season continues as consumption campaign entices moviegoers

China is continuing to experience a box office boom this year, driven by a nationwide campaign to spur consumption with cheaper cinema tickets while a series of big summer releases are also enticing film fans out to theaters up and down the country.

Seen as one of the most lucrative periods of the year, China's summer box office season, which officially runs from June 1 to August 31, has now generated more than 10.7 billion yuan in box office revenue as of midday Thursday.

This has helped propel China's total box office revenue for 2026 above 26.5 billion yuan (over 3.9 billion U.S. dollars) as of Thursday afternoon, with more than 670 million moviegoers and over 96 million screenings recorded, according to the latest data from a leading Chinese ticketing platform.

The diverse line-up of summer blockbusters covers a broad range of genres, including comedy, animation, sci-fi, war, and suspense and action, offering audiences more choices and helping attract viewers from different age groups and with different interests.

Among the best performers is the anti-war film "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East," which tells the story of a chef working at a Chinese restaurant in the Middle East when war breaks out in the 2000s. It has drawn positive feedback both for its perspective on war and the vivid portrayal of life in the Middle East.

In just 10 days since its release on Aug. 11, the film has raked in over 1.2 billion yuan, catapulting it up the box office charts as it closes in on the year's biggest grossing films.

Ticketing data shows that the current top four on China's annual box office chart are the auto-racing sequel "Pegasus 3", Hong Kong director Stephen Chow's sports comedy "Kung Fu Soccer" about a team of female footballers, the touching family drama "Dear You", and animated film "All Wishes Come True!"

China launched a nationwide campaign this year to boost the cinema sector, with at least 1.2 billion yuan in subsidies planned throughout 2026 to make movie-going more affordable. Data shows the average ticket price for domestic-made movies has dropped to 39.5 yuan (less than 6 U.S. dollars) this year, some 20 percent lower in 2025.