Xpeng’s Iron robot has had its share of setbacks, but the Chinese company is back to boast. The first of its production-model humanoid robots has walked off the production line. And that’s not a metaphor, either. According to the company, the first of its production ‘bot literally walked out.
Xpeng says that it has “completed the production-lines [sic] manufacturing of the world’s first advanced humanoid robot, which autonomously walked off the lines.” The Guangzhou-based facility disgorged the humanoid robot, after which company head He Xiaopeng welcomed it onto the facility’s staff.
Iron will
Having the first robot walk off the floor and into a photo op isn’t quite as remarkable as the company makes out, but it’s still good publicity for the new facility. The first of its production models are less sleek than the marketing material makes them out to be. It’s also not much of a feat to have a humanoid robot walking once the basic operating system is installed.
The factory floor might be more impressive. The production lines used to manufacture the Iron robot are, according to Xpeng, about 80% automated. They’re doing impressive work, too. The Iron robot features three Turing AI chipsets internally, giving it 2,250 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of power. Coupled with 76 degrees of freedom through its body and 21 degrees in each hand, Iron might justify its realistic mimicking of human motion. Part of the way, anyway.
CEO He Xiaopeng said, “Today’s step is small, but Xpeng is building the production lines for an entirely new product category. Looking ahead, Xpeng will continue to explore faster production rhythms and greater scale in robot manufacturing, charting a new path toward a leading robot manufacturing industry in China and globally.”
Mass production is planned by the end of 2026, with an international launch set for 2027. In the meantime, Iron will work at Xpeng’s own factories and stores. If that doesn’t work out for the company, there are always flying cars to look forward to.
