{"id":444928,"date":"2025-11-11T13:34:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T10:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/?p=444928"},"modified":"2025-11-11T16:58:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:58:07","slug":"on-stage-ceo-slices-his-companys-robot-to-prove-its-not-human","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/on-stage-ceo-slices-his-companys-robot-to-prove-its-not-human\/","title":{"rendered":"On stage: CEO slices his company&#8217;s robot leg to prove it\u2019s not a human"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>During its AI Day event last week, Chinese EV maker Xpeng unveiled its humanoid robot, named Iron.<\/p>\n<p>The robot quickly drew attention, walking smoothly across the stage, but it was so impressive that many on social media suggested it might actually be a person in a costume.<\/p>\n<p>Those suspicions quickly gained traction, especially considering previous demonstrations by other companies that had used fake components. However, Xpeng\u2019s CEO, He Xiaopeng, swiftly aimed to dispel the rumors: he revealed the robot\u2019s mechanical parts both during the live event and later through posts on social media.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium_large wp-image-444930 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.menatech.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Bigumigu_XPENG_Iron_4-1300x680-1-768x402.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"402\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.menatech.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Bigumigu_XPENG_Iron_4-1300x680-1-768x402.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.menatech.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Bigumigu_XPENG_Iron_4-1300x680-1-300x157.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.menatech.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Bigumigu_XPENG_Iron_4-1300x680-1-1024x536.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.menatech.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Bigumigu_XPENG_Iron_4-1300x680-1.jpeg 1300w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 768px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 768\/402;\" data-original-sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>On stage, Xiaopeng took a bold step to silence skeptics. In a dramatic display, Xpeng\u2019s robotics team used scissors to cut through the robot\u2019s soft exterior, peeling away its flexible shell and synthetic muscles to reveal the metal rods, servos, and inner framework beneath.<\/p>\n<p><iframe data-src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/m_Ag_SgsHVg?si=qsEpGZGQknFeCZV4&amp;t=294\" width=\"750\" height=\"421\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The demonstration made it clear that Iron is not a person in a suit, but an impressive robot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Although it was a bold move, neither the demonstration nor the stunt demonstrates the superiority of the new robot. Experts pointed out that walking on a perfectly flat line is impressive, but not necessarily revolutionary. This is especially true since it remains unclear what real-world purpose the Iron is intended to serve as it approaches potential commercialization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In recent months, several major technology companies have showcased their humanoid robots, including Tesla\u2019s Optimus and 1X Technologies\u2019 Neo. Despite the hype, true autonomous robotics still faces significant challenges. Tesla\u2019s Optimus, for example, can barely respond to simple prompts, such as \u201cWhere can I get a Coke?\u201d Meanwhile, the Neo relies heavily on remote control and won\u2019t be fully independent when it launches next year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During its AI Day event last week, Chinese EV maker Xpeng unveiled its humanoid robot, named Iron. The robot quickly drew attention, walking smoothly across the stage, but it was so impressive that many on social media suggested it might actually be a person in a costume. Those suspicions quickly gained traction, especially considering previous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":444929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":[],"meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29330],"tags":[29352,29379,29374,29405],"audience-intent":[],"content-types":[],"country":[],"entity":[],"persona":[],"class_list":["post-444928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-automation-and-robotics","tag-china","tag-enterprise-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444928"},{"taxonomy":"audience-intent","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience-intent?post=444928"},{"taxonomy":"content-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-types?post=444928"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=444928"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=444928"},{"taxonomy":"format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/format?post=444928"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/menatech.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=444928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}