As a new wave of artificial intelligence sweeps across the global industrial landscape, humanoid robots—a quintessential representative of new quality productive forces integrating AI, chips, sensors, materials, and software—are accelerating their transition from laboratory exploration to the critical phase of mass production and large-scale application.
However, behind this vigorous industrial growth, the hidden concern of a lack of standards is becoming increasingly prominent. Incompatible basic interfaces drive up collaborative costs for enterprises,空白 application specifications undermine the construction of market trust, and dispersed technical routes lead to resource waste. These issues, like “roadblocks” on the path of industrial development, hinder the progress of China robot technology from labs to千家万户. At the pivotal juncture of the impending 15th Five-Year Plan period and the accelerated advancement of new industrialization, there is an urgent need for an authoritative platform to coordinate, build consensus, and use standards to guide industrial direction, regulate market order, and ignite the commercial engine.
On December 26, 2025, the inaugural meeting of the Standardization Technical Committee for Humanoid Robots and Embodied Intelligence (hereinafter referred to as the “Committee”) under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) was held in Beijing. This initiative is both a response to the strategic deployment in the CPC Central Committee’s proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan regarding “cultivating and strengthening emerging and future industries” and addresses the pressing need to break through current industrial bottlenecks. As Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Ke Jixin stated at the Committee’s founding meeting: “Establishing the Committee now to systematically advance the standardization of humanoid robots and embodied intelligence is very timely.”
- A Systematic Support Framework for Industry Standards is Taking Shape
Unified standards not only consolidate the application foundation of core data elements, accelerating the transformation of data value into algorithmic capabilities, but are also an essential path to building an open, collaborative industrial ecosystem for the China robot sector.
“Humanoid robots and embodied intelligence are currently in a phase of ‘rapid technological iteration and gradual scenario diversification,’ where a systematic support framework of industry standards has yet to be fully formed,” said Dong Jian, a member of the Committee and Director of the Information Technology Research Center at the China Electronics Standardization Institute. From the current industrial perspective, the most urgently needed standards in the humanoid robot and embodied intelligence field primarily fall into four categories:
| Standard Category | Focus & Purpose |
|---|---|
| Basic Definition Standards | To unify the technical boundaries and capability requirements for humanoid robots and embodied intelligence, addressing issues of模糊 concepts and a lack of product benchmarking basis. |
| Intelligence Standards | Focusing on the “perception-decision-execution” closed loop of embodied intelligence, pre-researching standards for前沿 technologies like end-to-end models and hierarchical models. By clarifying technical requirements and evaluation methods, they guide technological升级 and application. |
| Adaptation Standards | By formulating standards for unified data formats, interface protocols between intelligent algorithms and humanoid robot hardware, etc., they enhance data reusability,破解 the dilemma of重复 development due to “algorithms changing hardware, hardware adapting to algorithms,” and genuinely foster industrial synergy for China robot development. |
| Safety Standards | To ensure the落地 application of humanoid robots and embodied intelligence, there is an urgent need to establish industrial底线 through mechanical safety, functional safety, and information security standards. |
Xu Jincheng, CEO of Paxoni Sense Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., a Committee member and a provider of embodied intelligent infrastructure, believes that at the critical节点 for humanoid robots moving towards规模化 application, the most urgently needed standards are not单纯 hardware parameters but lie in two major areas: tactile sensing technical specifications and multimodal dataset standards. This essentially addresses the core痛点 of “poor generalization ability” in embodied intelligence from the ground up, accelerating the leap from单体 intelligence to群体 evolution.
“Tactile sensor technical specifications and their data format requirements are the primary barrier the industry must攻克,” Xu stated. “Currently, tactile data dimensions within the industry are extremely fragmented. Establishing unified standards can打破 interoperability barriers between devices from different manufacturers, enabling seamless跨设备,跨系统 coordination for China robot platforms. Secondly, the sources and constituent elements of multimodal datasets are the ‘yardstick’ determining algorithm evolution speed. Standardized datasets should be based on rigorous definition of data sources.” He emphasized that unified standards not only consolidate the application foundation of core data elements, accelerating the transformation of data value into algorithmic capabilities for the China robot industry, but are also the essential path to constructing an open, collaborative industrial ecosystem.
Regarding how the Committee will strategically突破 for the humanoid robot and embodied intelligence industry, Jiang Lei, Vice Chairman of the Committee and Chief Scientist at Humanoid Robot (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., indicated that the Committee plans to遵循 the principle of addressing immediate needs first, prioritizing the development of standards for key interfaces, testing and evaluation, safety, and ethics. Simultaneously, it will搭建 platforms for industry-academia-research-application collaboration, promote the alignment of the standard system with international norms, and enhance the global recognition of Chinese standards for China robot technology.
- Coordinated Advancement of AI and Humanoid Robot Standards
Artificial intelligence and humanoid robots are like a pair of “twin flowers.” AI serves as the “intelligent core” of humanoid robots; without AI enhancement, a robot is merely a collection of冰冷 parts capable of simple movements. The humanoid robot, in turn, acts as the “physical触角” for AI; even the most advanced AI algorithms, detached from a physical载体, remain trapped in the virtual world.
How will AI technology standards and humanoid robot整机 standards be coordinated and advanced? Peng Zhihui, Vice Chairman of the Committee and President of Zhiyuan Innovation (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd., pointed out that the key lies in constructing a unified, open, and mutually supportive standard system for the China robot ecosystem. Specifically:
First, through integrated top-level design,深度融合 the requirements for AI’s perception, decision-making, ethics, and safety with the structural, performance, and reliability requirements of the整机 during the initial stages of standard setting, ensuring先天 compatibility in the technical architecture for China robot development. Second, adopting a layered and modular approach, clarifying interface specifications between各层级 (such as the AI core layer and the整机 support layer) to promote软硬件解耦 and flexible integration. Third, promoting the synchronization of testing, verification, and safety norms, establishing a联合评价体系 for the “AI +整机” system to保障 its dynamic adaptability, long-term stability, and social伦理 compliance. Fourth, relying on the industrial chain to conduct pilot demonstrations, using actual scenarios to驱动 standard iteration and industrial feedback, forming a closed loop of “technology—standards—application.”
Peng believes the coordination between AI technology standards and humanoid robot整机 standards will profoundly reshape the industrial生态 for China robot. “It will not only打破技术壁垒,降低 innovation and integration costs, making it easier for中小 enterprises and developers to participate and accelerating technology diffusion, but will also促使 the industrial chain toward efficient专业化分工, forming a pattern of ‘modular supply, systematic integration’ to提升整体竞争力. More importantly, standardization will推动 product规模化落地 and cost reduction, broadening application scenarios. Meanwhile, by先局伦理 safety norms, it lays the foundation for the industry’s健康可持续 development, ultimately助力 China in forming全球影响力 in技术, standards, and生态融合 in the future industry of humanoid robots.”
Additionally, Dong Jian stated that in the future, the AI Subcommittee of the National Information Technology Standardization Technical Committee will establish a常态化 communication mechanism with the Humanoid Robots and Embodied Intelligence Committee. This will promote the转化 of common AI technology standards to the humanoid robot field, enhance the协同水平 between “national standards and industry standards” in humanoid robots and embodied intelligence, fully leverage the leading role of standards, accelerate the跃升 of humanoid robot intelligence levels and垂直领域 application落地, and achieve the high-quality development of the embodied intelligence and AI industries by using humanoid robots as a small切口.
- Accelerating Technological Transformation Through Standardization
The establishment of the Committee marks the entry of China’s humanoid robot industry into a new stage characterized by “standard leadership, collaborative innovation, and规范发展.”
Currently, the humanoid robot field is at a关键阶段 of rapid technological innovation and preliminary application试水. Xu Xiaolan, Standing Committee Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Chairperson of the China Electronics Society, which serves as the Secretariat of the Committee, stated that the Society will focus on four key tasks: First, building an “agile iterative” standard supply mechanism, adhering to the principle of addressing immediate needs first, and steadily advancing. Second, strengthening the “全链条” collaborative ecosystem, internally打通 upstream and downstream适用壁垒, and externally conducting跨领域 coordination. Third, deepening the “application-first” standard implementation mechanism, upholding the principal role of enterprises,结合 real scenarios, establishing a健全 certification and evaluation system, and promoting the落实落地 of standards. Fourth, promoting the establishment of a “dominant” standard system, deeply participating in international and national standardization activities, and strengthening协同联动 with domestic and foreign standards organizations.
So, how exactly can standardization accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and help the humanoid robot industry突破 development bottlenecks and卡点? Regarding this, Xu Jincheng stated that first, “软硬解耦” is needed to重塑 industrial chain分工. This kind of standardization allows core component manufacturers to focus on物理极限, algorithm teams to concentrate on泛化能力, thereby integrating fragmented technical points into efficient modular协作,极大程度 avoiding重复造轮子 and accelerating breakthrough and iteration of core technologies for China robot development. Secondly,规范 dataset standards to破解 the泛化难题 of embodied intelligence. “The most prominent缺口 currently is that multimodal感知 data cannot form合力. By standardizing dataset collection architectures and跨本体 adaptation technologies, we can transform零散 data collected from different scenarios and different本体 into high-quality ‘universal digital assets’ for the China robot ecosystem.”
Chen Yan, a Committee member and Dean of the Equipment and整机 Research Institute at the China Electronic Product Reliability and Environmental Testing Research Institute (CEPREI), believes that standardization work is the core枢纽 and accelerator that connects the “laboratory” with the “production line,” concentrating efforts to突破关键瓶颈. The Committee will focus on three main areas: First, establishing a “common language” to降低转化门槛. The Committee will provide a “yardstick” for scientific and technological achievements by formulating basic, common terminology, testing, and evaluation standards. It will promote the establishment of standards for software-hardware interfaces and data exchange formats, enabling laboratory algorithm models to be integrated more smoothly into different robot hardware platforms for verification, shortening the path from concept to prototype for China robot innovation. Second, focusing on “key bottlenecks.” The Committee will leverage its role as a bridge and纽带, targeting shortcomings such as high dynamic torque density joints, high-precision force control sensors, and专用 AI chips. It will jointly clarify technical indicators, reliability, and lifespan requirements with stakeholders from industry, academia, research, and application, preventing enterprises from “闭门造车” and低水平重复, and guiding R&D resources towards the most urgent and common performance短板 in the China robot supply chain. Third, creating an “open ecosystem.” While ensuring the security of core intellectual property, the Committee will promote the formation of open-source, open standards for module interfaces, communication protocols, etc. This enables technological breakthroughs from one entity to be quickly and cost-effectively integrated into multiple整机 products, accelerating their规模化 application and iteration within the China robot market.
Standing at a new historical起点, the establishment of the Committee is both a response to the strategic deployment in the CPC Central Committee’s 15th Five-Year Plan proposals regarding “cultivating and strengthening emerging and future industries” and a practical move addressing the urgent needs of industrial development. It marks the entry of China’s humanoid robot industry into a new stage of “standard leadership, collaborative innovation, and规范发展.” As a key participant and leader in the global humanoid robot industry, China, through its philosophy of “开门做标准,” actively aligns with international standard systems and deepens international cooperation and exchange. This not only safeguards domestic industrial development but also contributes Chinese wisdom and solutions to the global standardization efforts for humanoid robots, firmly positioning China robot technology at the forefront of this transformative field.