Xiaomi debuts humanoid robot for EV plant

By Alimat Aliyeva

Xiaomi has announced the deployment of a humanoid robot at its electric vehicle manufacturing plant, AzerNEWS reports.

The robot operated autonomously for three hours at the self-tapping nut installation station in the foundry. During testing, it achieved a 90.2% operational success rate with an average production cycle of 76 seconds. The task involved precise gripping of fasteners, accurate positioning, and automatic tightening following the integrated casting of components.

The system is powered by Xiaomi’s proprietary VLA model, Robotics-0, which features 4.7 billion parameters and is enhanced with reinforcement learning. Its control architecture integrates visual perception, tactile feedback, and joint position control, allowing the robot to maintain stability and adapt to minor variations on the assembly line.

Xiaomi states that this is the first step toward scaling humanoid robots in automotive manufacturing. Future plans include expanding their use to additional assembly tasks, such as quality inspection and component handling.

This innovation not only boosts efficiency but could also address labor shortages and improve workplace safety by taking over repetitive or physically demanding tasks. Xiaomi’s move strengthens its position against competitors like Tesla and Xpeng, who are also investing heavily in humanoid robotics for industrial applications.

Interestingly, Xiaomi is exploring the possibility of giving the robot limited collaborative capabilities with human workers, opening the door to hybrid assembly lines where humans and humanoids work side by side.