EP.76 CHINA ACCELERATES THE ROBOT MASS PRODUCTION
Figure robots now can work with dishwashers, robovacs finally climb up the stairs, & much more...
China accelerates the quadruped robot mass production ⚙️
China is clearly not holding back in the robotics arena. DEEP Robotics, a Hangzhou firm, is now mass-producing quadruped robots. The company’s quadruped units are already being tested pre-shipment, months before deployment across Europe and the U.S.
This trend isn’t limited to DEEP Robotics. Unitree Robotics, another Hangzhou-based innovator, now controls about 60% of the global quadruped market and is pursuing an IPO that could value it at $7 billion. With hundreds of Chinese smart-robot firms registered and a national push toward technological leadership, China is rapidly scaling production, pairing hardware with AI and heavy investor backing.
Next-generation quadrupeds like DEEP Robotics’ Lynx M20 blur the line between legged and wheeled mobility. These robots, capable of tackling slopes, debris, and even ladders, combine wheel speed with legged agility and are designed for harsh environments.
From mass production lines to global deployment, China’s robotics ecosystem is stepping on the gas.
Eufy lets robovacs finally conquer stairs 🪜
Robot vacuums are great, until they meet a staircase. Anker’s smart home brand Eufy thinks it has cracked the problem with MarsWalker, a robotic stairlift that ferries your vacuum between floors.
Unveiled ahead of its spring 2026 launch, MarsWalker uses a drive-track base and four robotic arms to carry a docked vacuum up or down straight, L-shaped, and U-shaped staircases. Once delivered, the vacuum rolls out to continue cleaning or return to its base station for recharging, bin emptying, or mop washing. The device builds a 3D map of the home to know exactly where to drop its passenger.
MarsWalker is a standalone unit with its own charging dock, and Eufy says it will work with several of its vacuums. Pricing is still under wraps, but the RoboVac Omni S2, a $1,599 flagship model set for a U.S. release in January—will be among the first supported. The S2 features stronger suction, smarter obstacle detection, and even a built-in fragrance system.
The MarsWalker highlights an industry shift toward solving long-standing robotic vacuum limitations. Instead of buying separate robots for each floor or carrying one around, Eufy is betting that consumers will welcome a helper bot for their helper bot.
Figure robots tackle the dishwashers 🍽️
Figure’s Helix VLA model is steadily building its résumé of everyday skills. After folding towels and rearranging warehouse packages, the humanoid AI system has now taken on one of the most deceptively complex chores: loading a dishwasher.
Typically, what seems trivial to humans is a robotics challenge. Dishes often need to be separated from cluttered stacks, reoriented in mid-air, or passed between two arms in tight coordination. Fragile glasses require fingertip-level precision, racks offer only centimeter-scale tolerances, and no two dish loads are ever quite the same. Success depends on constant adaptation, recovering from slips, collisions, and unexpected starting conditions in real time.
Helix handled the task using the same architecture that powered its earlier logistics and laundry demonstrations. No new algorithms were added; the system simply ingested new training data. With that, it learned to singulate and stack plates, reorient glasses between hands, and adjust strategies on the fly, even recovering gracefully from failed grasps.
Meme of the week 🤖
Universal Robots extends reach with the UR8L cobot 📏
Universal Robots (UR) has introduced the UR8 Long, a collaborative robot designed to deliver extended reach and precise handling in space-constrained environments. The launch took place at FABTECH 2025 in Chicago.
With a 1,750 mm (68.9 in.) reach, matching the larger UR20, but in a lighter, slimmer form factor, the UR8 Long is engineered for tasks such as complex welding, precision dunnage picking, and multi-point inspection. Its 8 kg payload capacity makes it versatile enough for a range of industrial applications, particularly where floor space is limited.
A key advance is compatibility with PolyScope 5 and PolyScope X, alongside MotionPlus, UR’s new motion control technology. This allows the cobot to synchronize with linear axes, rotary positioners, and turntables, enabling smoother trajectories and consistent accuracy. UR has also reduced the mass by 30% compared to the UR20, improving agility while maintaining strength.
Programming has been made more intuitive thanks to enhanced freedrive capabilities, which let operators manually guide the arm into position. Combined with a compact wrist design, the UR8 Long can be mounted on gantries, rails, or overhead systems, extending its utility in both high-mix and high-volume production settings.
“The UR8 Long is a smart robotic arm that can reach farther and do more than ever before,” said Jean Pierre Hathout, president of Universal Robots. “Its longer reach opens new ways to automate jobs that used to be performed manually, helping people and businesses work faster, more safely, and with less physical effort.”
A robot that will beat you at table tennis! 🏓
HITTER is humanoid robot developed by a collaboration between UC Berkeley and Tsinghua researchers. Built for rapid, precise play, HITTER operates under a hierarchical control system that mirrors human decision-making in high-speed sports.
The system works by combining a model-based planner that anticipates ball trajectory and strike timing with a reinforcement learning-based controller that orchestrates full-body motion—coordinating arm and leg movements for agile, striking responses. This dual-layer setup enables HITTER to return shots at speeds exceeding 5 m/s while maintaining balance through sustained rallies.
In tests, HITTER achieved 106 consecutive successful hits against a human opponent and maintained extended exchanges with another humanoid. The robot can interpret fast-moving objects and react within sub-second intervals, delivering smooth returns in conditions that simulate actual table tennis game.
