Chinese EV company XPENG unveiled its next-gen humanoid robot IRON during its AI Day event in Guangzhou, having it walk onto the stage in a stilted yet strangely lifelike saunter. The reveal swiftly sparked online discussion concerning the IRON’s distinctly feminine appearance and walk, XPENG having equipped its robot with wide hips and notable breasts.
However, while this seemed like a strange design decision to some, XPENG does have reasons for modelling its IRON robot on a woman.
Credit: Amanda Yeo / Mashable
Addressing the IRON’s form factor during his keynote speech, XPENG’s chairman and CEO Xiaopeng He first explained why the company’s robots are humanoid at all. He stated that he’d been insistent on quadruped robots during the company’s first forays into robotics, as four legs are more stable than two. However, quadrupeds lack the functionality of hands, and have trouble navigating smaller spaces due to difficulty in turning around.
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As such, while he believes future advanced robots will come in many different humanoid and non-humanoid shapes, the former is the most practical design at this stage.
“A lot of scenarios are designed for human beings in this world,” said He, later speaking to the media via a translator. “If the robot is more human-like then it’s [easier for] them to adapt to the real world.”
Credit: Amanda Yeo / Mashable
He also considered that humanoid robots elicit a more emotional reaction from consumers, as they feel more friendly and inviting than other potential forms.
“More human-like robots and also non human-like robots can both be good looking, but the human-like robot can be more intimate,” He continued. “If you think it’s warmer, more human, then you can sell more and you can reach the scale effect, then the cost control can be better in return. It will have actually a positive cycle.”
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Why did XPENG create a female robot?
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Considering XPENG’s mission to create human-like robots, the next-gen IRON’s curvier build shouldn’t be too surprising. Liangchuan “LC” Mi, vice president of XPENG’s Robotics Centre, told reporters that the company chose to create a female-presenting robot simply because there are female-presenting people.
“This is more about inspiration,” said Mi. “We see the different options because there are different kinds of humans. So we’re trying to see how people can react [to different form factors].... So we’ll see all kinds of feedback from people, and people may have different preferences when they put the robot into the workforce.”
“The head of our Robotics Centre, he said, ‘We are not making robots. We are making humans,’” XPENG’s CEO He said during his keynote speech. “In the future, robots will be [your] life partners and also maybe your colleagues. That’s why it’s more like [an] intelligent human, [and] has the intelligence to create a better life with human beings.”
He therefore hopes to make IRON as close to human as possible, including giving it soft skin, a height similar to that of a human, and secondary sex characteristics.
Credit: Amanda Yeo / Mashable
“It can be more like [a] human, with different body shapes,” said He. “You can choose a little bit fatter IRON, or, like me, a slimmer IRON. Or you can customise your IRON based on your preferences. We also offer you the full coverage soft skin, so the robot is warmer and also more intimate….
“We can see that IRON can have different body shapes and sexes,” He continued. “I suspect that just like [when] you buy a car, you can choose different colours, exterior, interior. In the future, when you buy the robot, you can choose sex, and you can choose the hair, longer or not, or the clothes.”
Of course, it will still be a while before the average consumer is faced with such decisions. XPENG’s IRON is currently still in the research and development stage, though with plans to begin preparing mass production for commercial use next April.
Disclosure: Mashable travelled to Guangzhao as a guest of XPENG.