UBTech launches U1 humanoid robots for emotional companionship in China

China’s UBtech Robotics unveiled its world-first mass-produced consumer humanoid robot at a Shenzhen event, marking a major push to introduce a personal companion, featuring artificial silicon skin and emotional artificial intelligence, as Chinese tech firms progress towards transitioning robots from the factory floor to the living room.

On Tuesday, the U1 comes in both male and female versions, standing 183cm and 168cm tall. The model is currently available in Lite, Pro and Ultra variants priced from 119,800 yuan to 990,000 yuan.

Staff at the launch event shared their opinions saying, “ The robot can hold conversations, maintain eye contact with users, and is available for sale only to adults.”

Tesla is effectively working to develop Optimus for manufacturing environments, while Figure AI has a significant focus on supply chain partnerships with corporate customers.

According to Jiao Jichao, vice-president of UBTech and head of Humanoid Robotics Research Institute, reproducing human facial expressions at scale remained one of the company’s biggest technological challenges.

On the contrary, it also requires thousands of components in the robot’s head as well as AI models that harmonize vocal speech with facial movements.

“One of the biggest challenges was making the robot look and behave naturally after fitting complex mechanical systems into a human-sized body, as well as ensuring its facial expressions matched speech and emotion and that it could deliver consistent performance at scale,” Jiao continued.

On social platform X, a recent announcement sparked a wave of intriguing comments with one user writing, “ The price is decent, about the same as my betrothal gift plus the money for buying a house. Just buy her directly.”

Second said: “ I think it would take decades until we have robots whose faces, including facial expressions, are almost indistinguishable from that of a real human.”

Industrial deployments persist as the principal driver for most commercial humanoid robot applications in China. Furthermore, companies including UBTech are now beginning to launch products aimed at the consumer market alongside their industrial automation offerings.