Robotics & Physical AI▲
Industrial robot makers diverge on humanoid robot strategies
At the 2026 World Robot Conference, industrial robot companies showed a clear split in their approach to humanoid robots. Established players such as EFORT, Luoshi Robotics, and STEP have already launched humanoid robot products, while companies like Jingcheng Electromechanical still focus mainly on traditional products such as ultra-high-speed desktop robots and wafer transfer robots. ABB, KUKA, and FANUC did not attend this year. Some companies believe that humanoid or wheel-arm robots can directly replace existing workstations and adapt to flexible scenarios, and that rising medical and household demand, policy support, and capital inflows are driving deployment. As of December 2025, investment deals in China's embodied intelligence and robotics sector reached 744, with total financing of 73.543 billion yuan. However, other companies argue that traditional industrial robots still have clear efficiency and cost advantages in fixed repetitive tasks, and that humanoid robots are not simply an upgraded version but a new technological route, so they are choosing the pragmatic path of industrial robots plus AI. Upstream suppliers of harmonic reducers, motors, and joint modules have launched lightweight products, but 80 percent of harmonic reducers are still sold to the industrial and collaborative robot sectors. Humanoid robots account for only a small share for now, though purchase volumes are growing rapidly.