Humanoid Companion Robot with 'Idol-like' Appearance Launched in China

A home humanoid robot has appeared in China, featuring an idol-like appearance and a realistic recreation of human skin texture, blood vessels, fingerprints, and even individual eyelashes.

The so-called companion robot, unveiled by leading Chinese robotics company UBTech, has already surpassed 13,000 orders, despite the top-tier model costing over 200 million won.

According to the local Chinese media outlet Red Star News, UBTech held a global launch event in Shenzhen on June 30 and showcased the actual 'U1 Series,' the first home humanoid robot product from its consumer brand 'UWORLD.'

Modeled after real humans, the male version of the U1 stands 183 cm tall and weighs 42 kg, while the female version is 168 cm tall and weighs 35.2 kg.

The robot is equipped with 88 movable joints and features functions such as blinking eyes and rotating its head.

While the robot's appearance on camera was so sophisticated that it was difficult to distinguish from a real human, a slight awkwardness in its movements became apparent once it began to move.

The price of the product ranges from a minimum of 119,800 yuan (approximately 27.41 million won) to a maximum of 990,000 yuan (approximately 226.6 million won).

The U1 series, scheduled to be delivered to buyers starting in mid-September, surpassed 13,000 orders online and offline as of yesterday.

"If a robot can perform household chores, satisfy emotional needs, and possess a beautiful appearance, then 100,000 to 200,000 yuan cannot be considered expensive," said Zhou Jian, founder of UBTech. "However, as the scale of mass production increases and the consumer base diversifies in the future, the price could go down further."

The primary reason for the high price of the robot is the complexity of the manufacturing process.

For instance, in the current mass production preparation stage, eyebrows and eyelashes must be manually implanted by humans, one strand at a time.

"The level of difficulty in mass production at this scale is rare in the history of human manufacturing," he stated. "The mass production scale for this year is expected to be 10,000 units, and the goal for 2027 is to achieve a production capacity of 50,000 units."

(Photo: AFP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.