Nowadays, UBTech Robotics has launched a new humanoid robot U1, thus going beyond industrial robots and making one designed for people.
Specifically, on Tuesday, the Shenzhen-based robotics company has presented its U1 series of products. According to the manufacturer, the robot is meant to be used for homes, elderly care, and premium services as a growing number of businesses are now producing their products both for customers and enterprises.
The new model is presented in Lite, Pro, and Ultra variants and is sold for prices starting from 119,800 yuan ($17,650) up to 990,000 yuan (approximately $138,000), and is available in male and female designs.
It is stated by UBTech Robotics that the device contains 88 servo joints, silicone skin, and a local AI running on a computer equipped with Rockchip's RK3588 processor. The robot will store the user data not in the clouds but in itself.
Moreover, UBTech asserts that the new robot can converse, maintain eye contact and react to emotions; however, the robot is able to identify more than 20 emotional states with more than 90% precision, which is not confirmed by anyone yet.Unlike most humanoid robots which are created for factories and warehouses, the U1 is meant for home and care facilities. This robot is designed to be safe with kids, old people, and animals adapting to various conditions.
According to UBTech, the creation of realistic facial expressions became the hardest part of making this robot. The robot integrates thousands of units with AI models which provide synchronization of facial expressions and speech.
As Tesla, Figure AI, Unitree Robotics, and AgiBot are still working on industrial robots, UBTech claims that there are increased demands in companion robots due to increasing aging population in China and looking for assistive devices.
It says that it managed to get more than 13,000 orders for the U1 at launch receiving over one million page views on its pre-orders on JD.com. People can put a refundable deposit of 3,000 yuan till July 15.
At the same time, UBTech declared about Human-Robot Companionship Initiative and about its intentions to give 100 customized U1 robots in 2026. In the future versions of the robot, people may use 3D face reconstruction and voiceprint identification features.Analysts in the industry believe that the humanoid robot market will experience significant growth. According to Morgan Stanley, China is forecasted to ship 50,000 humanoid robots in 2026, which will increase to 446,000 per year by 2030.
UBTech's U1 series is an attempt to find out whether realistic looks, emotional artificial intelligence, and on-board computing could make companion robots feasible for customers.
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