"Falling and Colliding": China’s Humanoid Robots Suffer Embarrassment on the Demo Stage

Collisions With Spectators and Toppling During Live Demos
Debate Over Safety and Readiness for Commercialization
"Growing Pains in Development" vs. "Technological Immaturity"

At a demonstration site for humanoid robots where China had been showcasing its technological prowess under the banner of a "robot rise," a series of accidents occurred in which robots fell over or collided with audience members.

On February 6, Yonhap News, citing local outlet Gupai News and others, reported that on February 3 a humanoid robot collided with an elderly spectator and they both fell to the floor during a demonstration event held in the lobby of a shopping mall in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Footage of the scene spread via social media platforms such as Weibo, sparking concerns about safety. Witnesses said, "The elderly person tried to avoid the approaching robot and ended up colliding with it." The elderly spectator was taken to a hospital for treatment, and the robot was withdrawn from the site, with the performance immediately halted. However, detailed information about the robot’s manufacturer was not made public.

The humanoid robot Iron, developed by electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng, is being dragged out by staff after it fell. Weibo

A similar accident had occurred just days earlier, on January 31. During its first public demonstration, Iron, a humanoid robot developed by electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors, suddenly lost its balance and fell forward. At the event held in Shenzhen, Iron appeared with a model-like gait, but toppled over in front of hundreds of spectators. The robot was unable to stand up on its own and was eventually carried off the site by staff.

As such scenes were captured in quick succession, Chinese internet users criticized that the companies may have "pushed ahead with public demonstrations prematurely, even though the technology is not yet mature." Many also strongly pointed to poor safety management in spaces where large, unspecified crowds gather. In response, Xpeng Motors stated, "Iron successfully completed normal walking multiple times and only fell over once," adding, "The research team is aware of this, and it will actually serve as encouragement for further research."

The scene of Xiaopeng's robot Iron suddenly collapsing during an event. Weibo

After having become the world’s largest market in the field of industrial robots, China has recently been intensively fostering AI-based humanoid robots as a next-generation strategic industry. Under government-led policy support, finished vehicle manufacturers, big tech companies, and startups are all competitively jumping into development. However, experts note that for humanoid robots, the technological difficulty is high in areas such as balance control, real-time decision-making, and safe interaction with humans, and they believe more time is needed before full commercialization. In practice, even overseas, humanoid robots have repeatedly faced issues such as falling over and limited movements in their early stages.

Within the industry, these recent accidents are being described both as "growing pains that appear in the process of robot technology development" and as a reminder that "much stricter safety standards are needed for demonstrations in front of the public." In the wake of the successive incidents, a key question for China’s "robot rise" strategy is emerging: how to strike a balanced approach between speed, safety, and technological completeness.