At the China International Trade and Service Fair (CIFTIS) 2026, which just closed in Beijing, the wave of human-shaped robots has shown a clear shift: no longer stopping at dance performances or calligraphy writing, smart machines are directly undertaking practical work.
The Galbot G1 robot model that once caused a fever when folding clothes at the Spring Gala is now deployed to operate automatic utility counters and has just opened its first store in Hong Kong (China). Many other robots also directly participate in stamping postcards, flipping pancakes or making artistic coffee.
However, the gap between performance and practical application in industry is still a major challenge.
Mr. Chu Khai - head of Thach Canh Son Intellectual Training Center - said that in the first half of 2026, the output of domestic human-shaped robots from China reached 23,000 units, but less than 5% can operate stably on the actual production line. The core reason is that the high-quality multi-modal data source for industrial training currently does not meet 1% of actual needs.
To solve this problem, China is forming a whole supporting industry revolving around robot training. "Vocational schools" for robots are operating at full capacity, where hundreds of machines practice carrying, ironing and assembling microchip components according to human instructions.
Notably, on September 9, China officially recognized a new profession: "embodied-intelligence robot application technician", including two professional positions: data collector and robot trainer.
In parallel with perfecting skills, the robot training data market is also being commercialized on a large scale and expanded to the international market. Recently, a Beijing artificial intelligence startup signed a contract worth 500 million yuan (about 74.66 million USD), officially exporting the first batch of K15 humanoid robots to work at a French battery factory.
