has tested its humanoid robot in a real factory (and there is video)

For years we have heard the same promise: humanoid robots working side by side with us in factories, warehouses or even in our homes. It’s an idea that appears again and again. However, when we go down from that stage to the ground of a real plant, the story changes quite a bit. There it is not enough to walk or grab objects; everything must happen precisely and be repeated many times without errors. In that context, each small advance begins to have a different meaning.

The latest news from Xiaomi. Lei Junfounder, president and CEO, posted a message on his official WeChat account to update the status of the company’s robotics project. The executive explains that a humanoid robot developed by the company has already begun “doing practices” within one of its automobile factories. The manager also links to a published technical article describing the first tests carried out with the robot under factory conditions. Let’s see.

What exactly has the robot done in the factory. According to the text, The humanoid robot has been put to the test in a very specific position within the automobile manufacturing process: placing self-tapping nuts on parts of the vehicle’s floor. In practice, the system collects these nuts from an automatic supply equipment and deposits them in the positioning tool where the automated screwing of the position is then carried out. The Chinese firm places this operation in the pressure casting workshop, on ground components after that process.

Three figures that help understand the test. Xiaomi explains that the humanoid robot performed this work for three hours of continuous autonomous operation within that position. In that period, it achieved a success rate of 90.2% in the simultaneous placement of the nuts on both sides of the piece, a percentage that the company defines as the number of correct operations compared to the total number of attempts made. Another fact that stands out is the work pace, since the system managed to adjust to a production cycle of up to 76 seconds. This is an important fact because in an industrial line, each operation must fit into very specific times so that the process does not break down.

behind the scenes. Xiaomi points out that its humanoid robot is based on the Xiaomi-Robotics-0 model, described as a VLA-type model that integrates vision, language and action within the same system. According to the company, this approach makes it easier for the robot to understand the tasks it must perform, perceive its environment and execute the movements necessary to complete them. The training is also complemented with reinforcement learning, a technique that allows the system to improve its behavior based on the experience accumulated in the physical world.

The faults that the robot can find on the line. In its technical description, Xiaomi also points out several scenarios in which the operation may fail. One of the main problems appears during the alignment process between the self-tapping nut and the positioning pin, which must be well centered and seated before screwing can proceed. If this fit is not precise enough, a blockage may occur during the process and the assembly remains incomplete. Additionally, the orientation of the nut inside the robot’s hand can vary with each grip, and the company cites factors that complicate adjustment, such as the knurled structure inside the nut, the magnetic attraction force of the pin, and, in some cases, environmental interference or working angle limitations.

The predecessor. To better understand this advance, it is worth remembering that Xiaomi has been exploring the field of humanoid robots for some time. In 2022 the company presented CyberOnea prototype that appeared at one of its events showing basic capabilities such as walking or holding objects. At that time the company itself made it clear that it was a project in an early stage of development. What we see now seems to be situated in another type of scenario: less demonstration on a stage and more tests within a plant, where the objective is to check if these machines can respond to the demands of a repetitive process.

Looking to the future. The company also hints that this experiment is just one part of a larger project. Xiaomi points out that it is testing its humanoid robots in various jobs within the factory, including box transport tasks and operations related to the installation of exterior elements of the vehicle. In fact, in his WeChat post, Lei Jun states that the company wants to contribute to the deployment of humanoid robots in smart manufacturing and proposes a medium-term forecast. According to his estimate, in the next five years there could be large quantities of these machines working in his factories.

Images | Xiaomi

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