With the rapid development of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and big data, humanoid robots are moving from science fiction to reality and becoming the focus of global scientific and technological competition. In 2025, known as the "first year of mass production of humanoid robots", domestic and foreign giants have accelerated their layout, and the humanoid robot industry is accelerating towards large-scale application. In this context, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) Theil System Laboratory officially launched the compilation of humanoid robot application scenario map on March 10, 2025, which will pave the way for industrial transformation and promote the iterative upgrading and industrial implementation of humanoid robot technology.
In recent years, the evolution of key technologies of humanoid robots has accelerated, product performance has been continuously improved, and application scenarios have been deeply expanded. From a technical point of view, humanoid robots have made significant breakthroughs in motion control, perception interaction, and artificial intelligence. Tesla's Optimus robot, for example, is continuously optimized in hand design for finer manipulation. At the same time, domestic enterprises such as Agibot and Zhongqing Robot have also made significant progress in core technologies such as simulation framework and motion control. These technological breakthroughs have laid a solid foundation for the widespread application of humanoid robots.
Figure: In March 2025, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) will launch the compilation of humanoid robot atlases
Policy support has injected strong impetus into the development of the industry. In November 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots", which clearly stated that humanoid robots are expected to become another disruptive product after computers, smartphones, and new energy vehicles, and position them as important new engines of economic growth. Subsequently, Beijing, Chongqing and other places have successively introduced special policies for embodied intelligence and robotics industry to clarify the goals of technological research and commercialization. For example, Beijing has set up a government investment fund with a total scale of 100 billion yuan and a duration of 15 years, focusing on supporting future industries such as artificial intelligence and robotics. The intensive introduction of these policies has provided a strong guarantee for the development of the domestic humanoid robot industry.
The diversified exploration of humanoid robot application scenarios is a key factor to promote the development of its industry. The application scenarios solicited by CAICT include innovative products, landing scenarios and potential scenarios. In terms of innovative products, the humanoid robot product is the main body, focusing on the performance and potential application scenarios of the whole machine product. For example, the humanoid robot launched by Agibot has excellent performance in flexibility and interaction ability, providing new possibilities for future home service and education scenarios. In terms of landing scenarios, the existing landing applications or trial scenarios are taken as the main body, focusing on the performance requirements of the scenario for humanoid robots, the performance matching degree of humanoid robots currently in use, and the actual effects of humanoid robots after using or trying out humanoid robots in scenarios. UBTECH completed the world's first multi-scene, multi-task humanoid robot collaborative training, which verified the task execution ability in complex environments. In terms of potential scenarios, the current potential scenarios that can use humanoid robots are taken as the main body, focusing on the performance requirements of humanoid robots in the scenarios, and the expected effects after using or trying humanoid robots in the scenarios. For example, in high-risk scenarios such as medical care and disaster relief, humanoid robots are expected to replace humans in dangerous tasks.
While the humanoid robot industry is accelerating, it is also facing many challenges. In terms of technology, humanoid robots still need further breakthroughs in motion control, perception interaction, and artificial intelligence. For example, the dexterous hand design of humanoid robots is still in the stage of rapid iteration, and the technical routes at home and abroad are quite different, the introduction speed of motors is fast, the degree of active freedom is constantly improving, and the future development direction is still uncertain. Market acceptance is also an important issue. The public is skeptical about the safety of humanoid robots and is worried about their potential risks in highly sensitive scenarios such as home and medical care. In addition, the society's understanding of the boundaries of robot capabilities is blurred, and some people have too high or too low expectations for its functions, which affects the depth and breadth of market promotion.
However, with the continuous progress of technology and the continuous expansion of application scenarios, the humanoid robot industry will usher in new development opportunities. The integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and big data will bring more powerful functions and wider applications to humanoid robots. At the same time, policy support and market demand will accelerate the commercialization process of humanoid robots. According to the "2025 Blue Book on the Development of Humanoid Robot Industry" released by the Prospective Industry Research Institute, the market size of Chinese humanoid robots will be about 2.76 billion yuan in 2024, and it is expected that by 2027, the industry will accelerate large-scale development, more abundant application scenarios, and related products will be deeply integrated into the real economy, becoming an important new engine of economic growth.
The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) has started the compilation of the application scenario map of humanoid robots, which is an important measure to promote the acceleration of the humanoid robot industry. By systematically sorting out application scenarios, it can not only promote the iterative upgrading of technology, but also provide guidance for the standardized development of the industry. In the future, humanoid robots are expected to be applied in more fields and inject new vitality into social and economic development.
