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Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng just unveiled its new humanoid robot, Iron. In the demo, its stride looked so human the internet lost its mind. Here's what XPeng did next: The reveal took place at… | Elad Inbar
Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng just unveiled its new humanoid robot, Iron. In the demo, its stride looked so human the internet lost its mind. Here's what XPeng did next:
The reveal took place at XPeng Tech Day 2025 in Guangzhou, China. Clips flooded the internet within hours.
Engineers and fans argued in the comments.
"This has to be a human in a suit."
"No robot can move like that."
XPeng's CEO He Xiaopeng took the stage and ordered to cut open the robot's synthetic suit - one of the legs - live, in front of everyone.
Metal lattice. Circuits. Actuators. All clearly mechanical.
He was proving it was real, but the internet wasn't convinced. "It's an amputee in a suit."
I'll be honest. I was certain it was a human in a suit as well.
No robot can walk the catwalk like a model.
The crossover gait - with one foot in front of the other - isn't possible with current hardware limitations.
I've deployed thousands of humanoid robots, from NAO to Pepper. Robots lacked the spine dexterity for it.
Until XPeng solved it...
The secret is an actuated spine. A human-like spine that mimics our vertebrae.
82 motors. 82 degrees of freedom.
Each one working together to create fluid, natural movement.
This single innovation changed everything about humanoid robotics.
But hardware alone isn't enough.
Iron uses an AI system that learns from watching videos. It studies how humans shift weight during heel-to-toe transitions. Then mimics that exact weight distribution in real time.
This is what a technological leap looks like.
Until yesterday, humanoid robots either needed extremely wide feet for stability or had to stay in constant motion, shifting their weight continuously just to demonstrate basic movement.
Today, Iron walks a runway with the grace of a fashion model.
As Elon Musk once quoted Arthur C. Clarke : "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Marvelous engineering. That's the only way to describe it.
Yes, Iron is early. The hands need work. It can't do complex tasks yet.
But the spine? The gait? The AI learning?
That's breakthrough technology.
And they're honest...
XPeng isn't claiming Iron is ready for your business.
Even the manufacturer doesn't claim autonomy or usefulness.
But here's what matters:
They've solved a fundamental problem in humanoid robotics.
Natural human-like movement that we've never seen before in any robot.
Only high hopes to see it becoming useful in our lives.
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