Humanoid Robots Shine at Spring Festival Gala, Showcasing Technological Advancements and New Industry Opportunities

Humanoid Robots Shine During the Spring Festival

During the 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, various humanoid robots from companies such as Yushu Technology, Songyan Power, Magic Atom, and Galaxy General showcased their skills, reflecting advancements in technology and industry upgrades. Many enterprises are also targeting commercial service scenarios, accelerating product innovation and market breakthroughs.

On February 24, humanoid robots performed soccer tricks live. Multiple eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft, developed in Hubei, were also presented at the “Accelerate the Construction of an Important Strategic Pivot for the Rise of Central China” conference, highlighting the latest research and development achievements in Hubei’s low-altitude economy and artificial intelligence.

Compared to last year’s Spring Festival Gala, where robots performed traditional dances, this year’s robots executed continuous backflips, cracked walnuts, folded clothes, and even sparred with human actors. This demonstrates a notable improvement in domestic robot technology.

Among the highlights, Yushu’s humanoid robots showcased extreme movements, including complex parkour routines, high jumping flips exceeding three meters, and rapid collective positioning. Their advanced concurrent control system enables dozens of robots to coordinate their movements in real-time, while AI algorithms combined with 3D laser radar ensure precise positioning even after vigorous activity.

Galaxy General’s robot “Xiao Gai” performed tasks like picking up glass shards, cracking walnuts, retrieving items from shelves, folding clothes, and stringing sausages. These seemingly mundane actions pose significant challenges for robots. Zeng Hui, Vice President of Government Affairs at Galaxy General, explained that unlike traditional robot demonstrations that rely on pre-programming, this performance showcased autonomous skills achieved through end-to-end perception, decision-making, and execution supported by comprehensive training and collaborative large models.

Lu Feng, Director of the Research Institute for Future Technology Development at Beijing, noted that compared to the 2025 Spring Festival Gala, products showcased in 2026 exhibited three key advancements in core technology: first, breakthroughs in motion control evolved from simple synchronized dances to high-dynamic martial arts flips and collaborative movements; second, qualitative leaps in human-robot interaction, such as more realistic bionic micro-expressions; and third, comprehensive upgrades to the “brain” and “cerebellum,” transitioning from predetermined program execution to autonomous perception and decision-making using embodied large models, allowing for impromptu interaction and intricate tasks.

Zhu Minghao, Executive Director of the Research Center for High-end Manufacturing at Beijing Jiaotong University, believes that improvements in artificial intelligence multimodal data fusion technology have enhanced robots’ environmental perception capabilities through efficient computation in their “brains.” This, combined with the dynamic adjustments of the “cerebellum” model, allows for precise control of actions, enabling robots to perform complex tasks similar to humans. “Humanoid robots are continually achieving individual breakthroughs in competition, with significant improvements in dynamic response speed and operational accuracy.”

Analysis suggests that the humanoid robots’ performance on the Spring Festival stage signifies a maturity transition from “performing” to “executing,” laying the groundwork for further commercialization. Goldman Sachs recently maintained its previous shipment forecasts, predicting that global humanoid robot shipments will reach 51,000 units in 2026 and rise to 76,000 units in 2027, compared to 15,000 to 20,000 units in 2025, indicating several-fold growth.

Beyond the stage, humanoid robots are integrating into various commercial and cultural tourism scenarios, such as writing blessings and selling beverages at tourist sites, and providing one-on-one shopping assistance in supermarkets during the Spring Festival. Many companies are accelerating product innovation and market expansion to meet the demands of commercial service settings.

According to a representative from Zhiyuan Robotics, the shift in perception from tools to partners will encourage more people to embrace robots in their lives. In the short term, robots are expected to appear in more cultural performances, such as assisting in theaters and interactive segments at music festivals. In the long term, they will become part of everyday life, including interactive guidance in shopping malls, cultural activities in communities, and even small performances at home.

Lu Feng believes that effectively operating in real scenarios opens up new market opportunities for the industry. For example, this will accelerate the application of new materials, such as lightweight carbon fiber and demand for sensory and energy materials like electronic skin and solid-state batteries. It will also promote the emergence of specialized solutions for various scenarios, with integrators focusing on areas like shopping assistance, logistics, and security likely to find development prospects.

However, experts interviewed cautioned that following the sensational performances at the Spring Festival Gala, humanoid robots may receive multiple supports and attention from policy, capital, and market sectors, necessitating vigilance against the risk of market overheating. Zhu Minghao emphasized the need to promote collaborative research and development among upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain, continue fostering innovation in key components, establish national and industry standards for products and technologies, and reduce supply chain costs. At the same time, companies should pursue differentiated competition, and the market needs to cultivate a patient capital ecosystem to drive pragmatic industry development.

CITIC Securities analysts believe that the current robotics industry is at a crucial juncture, transitioning from “technological vision” to “industrial reality.” This represents not only a competition of computing power, algorithms, and precision manufacturing but also a strategic long-distance race.