China’s Xpeng humanoid robot faceplants during public debut

Videos circulating on Chinese social media show the robot walking to the center of the stage during its first public appearance at a shopping mall on Jan. 31 before turning to face the crowd. As it lifted its arm, IRON appeared to lose balance. Staff rushed forward to intervene, but the robot tumbled forward onto the ground.

The fall drew audible gasps from the audience. The event’s host attempted to reassure the crowd, saying that robots, like humans, must "overcome setbacks on the way to a better future," according to Business Insider.

Although IRON had walked without incident several times earlier that day, the stumble quickly spread online and became the top trending topic across Chinese social media platforms over the weekend, the South China Morning Post reported.

Reacting to the incident, He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of Xpeng, said on Weibo on Sunday that the mishap was a reminder of "how all toddlers learn to walk." "After a fall, they will stand firm; the next step is to begin running, and to keep running."

The incident underscores the challenges humanoid robots still face in physical movement. While AI has made rapid progress in cognitive tasks, physical embodiment remains far more difficult, said Zhang Qiang, director of the academic committee of the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics.

"It is quite difficult to find truly comprehensive data on human movement," Zhang said.

 

 

China’s Xpeng humanoid robot faceplants during public debut

China’s Xpeng humanoid robot faceplants during first public debut

Standing 178 centimeters tall and weighing 70 kilograms, IRON is designed to walk, speak, and interact with people in real time, combining human-like proportions with machine-level precision, according to Interesting Engineering.

Its internal structure is modeled on the human spine and muscular system, using synthetic muscles that stretch and contract to produce smoother, more natural movement.

The robot had previously drawn attention online for its unusually light, catwalk-like gait. During a demonstration last November, He Xiaopeng cut open the robot’s outer layer to show that there was no person inside, after its lifelike movements sparked skepticism among viewers.