Humanoid Robot Costs Decline as Hardware Converges, Shifting Focus to AI Models
The second World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing highlighted significant advancements in humanoid robotics, with industry insiders noting improved performance due to progress in core components and maturing supply chains. A key trend observed is the increasing similarity and falling costs of hardware components used in these robots. This convergence in hardware is shifting the competitive landscape, making the underlying embodied AI foundation models, which act as the robots' 'brains,' the primary battleground for developers. The cost of manufacturing a humanoid robot capable of running has dramatically decreased from millions of yuan to approximately CNY100,000 (USD14,000), a trend expected to continue. This reduction in cost and standardization of components are attracting new entrants, including autonomous-driving companies and internet giants, into the humanoid robotics sector. The focus is now on developing sophisticated AI models, such as Vision-language-action (VLA) models for specialized tasks and ... 
