Guangdong-made humanoid robots deeply engage in 'warmth' interaction track

In August 2024, the "Guangdong Brand" humanoid robot "Xia Lan" became an overnight sensation with its lifelike face and highly intelligent interactive experience. In March 2025, "Xia Lan" welcomed the world's first upright walking humanoid robot, "Xia Qi," as its "junior apprentice." Over a month later, it was promoted to "second apprentice" with the arrival of "Xingxing Xia® P01," the world's first dual-form humanoid robot.

The successive appearances of "Xia Lan," "Xia Qi," and " Xingxing Xia® P01" all originate from Digit (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Digit"), a startup established just over a year ago. As the old guard, like CloudMinds Robotics, with a valuation of over 20 billion yuan, is on the verge of collapse, how can innovative enterprises survive and thrive? Having strategies and tactics is the answer, according to Shen Jian, the founder and CEO of Digit.

Shen Jian stated that "warmth" interaction is the specialized track that Digit has anchored itself in. "The application scenarios of robots can be broadly classified into two categories: one aimed at humans, such as elderly care, companionship, exhibition hall explanations, front desk reception, and shopping mall guidance, which we understand as interactive scenarios; the other is not human-centric, such as assembly, sorting, and handling in industrial manufacturing production lines, which deal with products or goods."

Through preliminary industry research, Shen Jian found that existing automated mechanical arms or industrial robots are already highly efficient in industrial manufacturing scenarios. However, interactive scenarios represent a different path. "At this stage, as long as certain issues within the interactive scenarios can be addressed, a commercial closed loop can be achieved. For instance, in an exhibition hall, its tasks do not require high precision; rather, it needs to showcase its uniqueness, distinctiveness, and peculiarity to attract the attention of guests or people as the first step to success."

"Next, it can rely on various large-scale interactive systems for professional explanations; further down the line, as motion control technology becomes stronger, similar to a child's bone development, can the robot's two arms exhibit gripping capabilities to assist in fetching a bottle of water or organizing shelves, and can the two feet demonstrate mobility?" Shen Jian acknowledged that the entry barrier for interactive scenarios is low, making it more suitable for product iteration.

"One of the biggest challenges facing bipedal robots currently is stability and endurance, which directly affects their implementation in complex commercial environments," Shen Jian said. The Xingxing Xia® P01, officially released by Digit on April 28th, is considered the optimal solution to stability and endurance for humanoid robots, a microcosm of the commercial implementation sought in the technological path of interactive scenarios.

"What is the purpose of creating robots? To assist people and to help people with their work. When robots are made, it's like a child being born. We also gradually learn to walk, study elementary, middle, and high school, and university courses, enter society to practice, and figure out how to pass through grassroots positions. Robots also emerge step by step by simulating humans." Corresponding to Shen Jian's statement are the rapid iterations of Xia Lan, Xia Qi, and Xingxing Xia.

Source: Lingnan On the Cloud

粤产人形机器人深耕“有温度”交互赛道

去年8月，“粤字号”仿生人形机器人“夏澜”，以逼真的脸部、高智能的交互体验一炮而红；今年3月，“夏澜”迎来全球首款直立行走人脸机器人“夏起”这个“小师弟”，时隔一个多月，又因“星行侠®P01”的出现晋升为“二师兄”，“星行侠®P01”也是全球首款双形态人形机器人。

接连出现的“夏澜”“夏起”“星行侠®P01”，都来自数字华夏（深圳）科技有限公司（以下简称“数字华夏”）这家成立仅一年多的初创企业。前浪叠加后浪，估值超200亿元的“前辈”达闼机器人已然濒死，创新企业如何活下去、冲起来？有招式、有打法是数字华夏创始人及CEO沈健的答案。

沈健表示，“有温度”的交互是数字华夏锚定的细分赛道。“机器人的应用场景可以简单分成两大类：一类面向的是人，比如说养老、陪护、陪伴、展厅讲解、前台接待、商场导购，我们把它理解为交互场景；一类面向的不是人，比如说工业制造生产线的组装、分拣、搬运，它面对的是产品或者货物。”

沈健通过前期的产业调研发现，现有的自动化机械臂或者工业机器人在工业制造场景已经足够高效，而交互场景是一条相反的路径，“现阶段只要能够解决交互场景里面的某几类问题，它就能够实现商业闭环。比如在展厅里，它的精细化作业要求是比较低的，更多的是需要机器人能够展现出它的特殊性、差异性、奇特性，能把客人或者把人的关注度吸引过来就成功了第一步”。

“下一步，它可以依靠各种大模型的交互系统进行专业的讲解；再往下一步，随着运动控制技术越来越强，就像小孩子的骨骼发育好了一样，机器人的双臂是不是可以发挥抓取性能，辅助人去拿瓶水、整理货架，双足是不是可以发挥运动性能。”沈健坦言，交互场景的进入门槛低，也更适合进行产品的迭代。

“目前，双足机器人面临的最大问题之一是稳定性与续航，这直接影响了其在复杂商业环境中的落地。”沈健说。数字华夏在4月28日正式发布的星行侠®P01，算是对人形机器人稳定性与续航的答题给出的最优解，也是交互场景技术路径在寻求商业落地的一个缩影。

“我们造机器人的目的是什么？是协助人、能够帮助人干活。机器人造出来，就跟小孩刚生出来一样，我们不也是要慢慢学会行走，学习小学、中学、大学的课程，走进社会开始实践，然后怎么度过基层岗位，机器人要模拟人也是这样一步步出来的。”与沈健发言对应的是，夏澜、夏起、星行侠的快速迭代。

总策划丨任天阳

总统筹丨林海利

总执行丨孙璇

策划执行丨吴江

统筹执行丨孙晶 刘佳宁

文丨许张超

图丨受访者提供

翻译丨钟佳

审校丨肖凯欣