Back-flipping, nunchuck-weilding humanoid robots delighted and amazed viewers at China’s annual televised new-year extravaganza with their kung-fu choreography. But they – and their rivals who took to the stage Monday night – also carried a message about just how rapidly Chinese androids are advancing.

China’s Lunar New Year Gala has long been a cultural touchstone—an annual, prime-time tradition watched by massive audiences across the

Humanoid robots staged a choreographed martial-arts display during China’s Lunar New Year Gala, signaling notable progress in robotics and AI performance. A now-viral video shows Unitree Robotics’ G1

Humanoid robots developed by Unitree Robotics performed kung fu and backflips during China's 2026 Lunar New Year broadcast.

Amazon shutters Blue Jay robot as it transitions to Orbital, a new modular warehouse system enhancing same-day delivery capabilities.

And it’s worth thinking about exactly how remarkable it is that the new humanoid robots are able to replicate the smooth, fluid, organic movements of humans and other animals, because the majority of robots do not move like this.

AI is transforming the field of robotics at a rapid pace," said Takayuki Ito, president of the International Federation of Robotics.

At this year's CMG Spring Festival Gala, the world's most-watched television broadcast, four Chinese robotics powerhouses, namely Unitree, MagicLab, Galbot and Noetix, debuted their most advanced units to date. For the robotics industry, this was far more than a cultural performance; it was a high-stakes global product launch.

Robotics could enter a new industrial super cycle as advances in AI, sensors, and hardware fuse digital intelligence with physical capability across industries. Parallel cost declines and performance gains are accelerating automation’s adoption, with ...