Chinese humanoid robots that help people in their houses were one of an array of advanced machines showed off at a conference this week.A Beijing conference played host to humanoid robot that can do chores, sort parcels and pack mobile phones. The companies behind them hope that the conference can help such machines move from displays that please and horrify the world – and into people’s actual homes and workplaces.More than 300 mostly domestic ⁠companies are attending the World Robot Conference, which runs through Sunday, displaying over 2,000 exhibits and launching more than 150 products, according to organizers.The event comes amid a surge of investor interest in humanoids, a potential new source of industrial growth for China and an arena of technological competition with the United States.Robotera XHAND 1 robotic hands at the company's booth at the 2026 World Robot Conference, in Beijing, China, August 20, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (Reuters)Shares in Unitree, China's best-known humanoid robot maker, soared nearly sixfold in their Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, after Unitree's initial public offering was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors.Following Unitree's IPO, startup Lumos Robotics and the robotics ⁠division of China's largest auto exporter Chery Automobile told Reuters they were also considering stock ​market ⁠listings.Madison Huang, Senior Director of Product Marketing at NVIDIA and daughter of Jensen Huang, poses for a selfie with a visitor, at the 2026 World Robot Conference, in Beijing (Reuters)Madison Huang, a senior Nvidia executive and daughter of the U.S. chipmaker's CEO Jensen Huang, made an unannounced visit to the event, watching robots perform flying kicks and dance routines before stopping at a companion-robot booth to ask about its sensors.Huang, who drew onlookers much ⁠as her father has on past visits to Beijing, oversees marketing for Nvidia's Omniverse and robotics platforms, software used to simulate and test physical AI — ​systems that can ⁠perceive and act in the real world.Despite geopolitical tensions ‌and U.S. restrictions on exports of Nvidia's most advanced AI chips to China, her visit highlighted foreign suppliers' role in China's push to develop robots for its factories, warehouses and homes.RealSense, a U.S.-based maker of vision systems for robots and one of the few foreign exhibitors at the conference, said it was ‌building sales partnerships in China as the sector develops."We see China as a very ‌strategic market for us," said Mike Nielsen, the company's chief marketing officer."It is becoming the center of humanoid technology."(Reuters)At the opening ceremony, Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, said robotics had become "an important force" in China's economic and social development, local media reported.Chinese robots are increasingly being tested in logistics, manufacturing and service settings."Our most common application scenarios are in logistics," said ⁠Zhang Dapeng, assistant vice president at industrial humanoid robot firm Leju, as his company showed robots moving and sorting crates and small objects.Zhang said European factories and Chinese auto plants were using Leju robots to move boxes and load components.At Robotera's booth, a humanoid torso on a wheeled tripod base sorted parcels. A company official said the robot had been deployed at China Post logistics sites since last year using Robotera's AI software.A sales representative said Robotera had more than 100 parcel-sorting robots in 15 warehouses nationwide.A Fourier Intelligence GR-3 humanoid robot gestures at the company's booth at the 2026 World Robot Conference (Reuters)Nearby, DexForce demonstrated humanoid robots packing mobile phones into boxes on an assembly line.The robots have been deployed since early this year at a Lens Technology factory, a Chinese supplier of touchscreens and other components to Apple and Huawei, said DexForce official Nicole ‌Yang.Yang said the machines had millimetre-level operating accuracy and could detect and correct errors, such as a phone being placed at an angle."In ​theory, human beings are the most dexterous," Yang said. "But many workers in factories are unwilling to do this kind of boring work."Lumos ‌Robotics is already using robots to automate the assembly of key modules ⁠at its factory and plans to introduce them into final assembly, Chief Executive Yu Chao said.People take pictures of a Deep Robotics X30 robot dog at the company's booth at the 2026 World Robot Conference (Reuters)X Square Robot, known for its focus ⁠on household chores, is looking to move beyond short home-service trials.Its longest deployment has lasted one month, and it is testing robots in hundreds of homes this year before gradual commercialisation next year, ‌said co-founder Yang Qian.RealSense's Nielsen said the companies ​most likely to succeed would be those able to put robots into active ‌production environments, adding that China's rapid development cycle was pushing suppliers to move ​more quickly."The product cycles for robots are more like six to eight months, not three to four years," he said.A Galbot G1 robot displayed next to shelves with goods at the company's booth at the 2026 World Robot Conference (Reuters)Here are 10 Chinese robot firms that will be showing off products and wooing potential ⁠customers and investors at the conference:UnitreeHangzhou-based Unitree has built its name on robots that are regulars in viral dance, boxing, and martial-arts demonstrations.Its compact R1 humanoid was introduced at a price starting at 39,900 yuan ($5,900), while Unitree's more advanced H1 is listed on its official store at $90,000.People look at a Unitree R1 robot wearing a branded vest at the 2026 World Robot Conference (Reuters)The company this week previewed "Superman", saying the robot can make a 2-metre (6.6-foot) standing ⁠jump and reach a top speed of 12.66 metres per ​second.Ubtech RoboticsUBTECH's Walker C1 is a full-size humanoid designed for service and interaction rather than factory work, with applications including reception and public-facing environments.Deep RoboticsThe Hangzhou-based startup's quadrupeds are already ⁠widely deployed in search-and-inspection and emergency rescue operations in China.People gather next to Deep Robotics banners promoting the company's robots at the 2026 World Robot Conference, in Beijing, China, August 20, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (Reuters)The company's Shanghai STAR Market IPO application was accepted ​in May.Leju RoboticsLeju's KUAVO is a bipedal humanoid ‌aimed at industrial and service work that the company says can be paired with Huawei's Pangu embodied-AI model.The startup, backed by tech giant Tencent, filed a Shenzhen IPO application in May, having secured about $200 million ‌in a funding round last October.GalbotGalbot's G1 has wheels rather ‌than legs, plus a lifting torso and two arms to restock shelves, retrieve medicines or move warehouse goods. It weighs 92.5 kg, carries 5 kg per arm and has an eight-hour operating time, according to the company.X SquareX Square is selling the ⁠software as much as the arm. Its WALL-B model identifies, picks and reorients jumbled parcels before feeding them onto a conveyor. The company said a livestreamed test handled 1,816 parcels an hour with over 98% accuracy.Fourier IntelligenceFourier's GR-3 "care-bot" is designed to feel less mechanical than factory humanoids. The human-sized 165-cm (5-foot-5-inch), 71-kg robot has a soft exterior, vision and touch interaction, aimed at companionship, public services, education and eldercare.An engineer wears non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) head cap to pilot a humanoid robot, at the Fourier Intelligence booth during the 2026 World Robot Conference (Reuters)Limx DynamicsThe Shenzhen-based startup specialises in general-purpose humanoid robots and embodied AI software. Backed by Alibaba and JD.com, its newest humanoid, ‌Luna, is designed to draw a crowd at malls, museums and theme parks.The 160-cm humanoid ​can learn movements from video and perform synchronised routines.Staff members stand near humanoid robots by LimX Dynamics during the 2026 World Robot Conference, in Beijing, China August 19, 2026. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang (Reuters)In China, the retail price is ‌set at RMB 298,000. The first 100 customers ⁠will receive a limited-time discount of RMB 40,000, available while supplies last, according to a ⁠company post on LinkedIn.RoboteraRobotera's L7 humanoid targets logistics and manufacturing, while its XHAND 1 dexterous hand has tactile sensors for delicate grasping.A humanoid robot by Robotera is seen working with packages during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 18, 2026 (AFP/Getty)Siasun Robot and AutomationUnlike the humanoid newcomers, ​Shenzhen-listed SIASUN is a long-established supplier of factory automation. ‌Its SR270A industrial arm can lift 270 kg, ​reach 2.7 metres and is built to load, weld and assemble heavy parts.