It took a few seconds to respond to Singaporean Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's voice command but slowly and surely, the diminutive robot took a step forward and extended an arm for a handshake.
Made by Unitree Robotics, one of China's leading humanoid robot makers, the robot was one of several humanoid robots that Lee interacted with on May 21 as he got a glimpse of a rapidly developing technology that will soon be deployed more widely in Singapore.
During a tour at the robotics incubator in Shanghai, Lee was also served a freshly brewed cup of tea and given a health check, all of which were done by other humanoid robots imbued with AI capability.
Singapore, which has been making its own push toward robotics and physical AI, could soon benefit from China's expertise and dominance in this field as Chinese companies look abroad for future growth.
Unitree, for instance, is one of eight firms that will be conducting large-scale trials at Punggol Digital District in Singapore's largest smart robotics test later in 2026.
