At IFA 2026, which opened in Berlin on Friday, robots made in China took up a large share of the hall. On the Xiaomi stand, the CyberOne humanoid robot completed a two-handed heart shape with a visitor and returned a fist bump. But a trade show is not where it usually works. According to a Xiaomi spokesperson, it works in an electric vehicle factory, where its success rate for tightening nuts now reaches 98%. The company says it is testing the robot’s potential on its production lines and speeding up the automation of its factories.
For the manufacturer, that is the point: a robot presented as a factory worker, shown to the public in a demonstration setting. Nothing in the source indicates how autonomous these welcome gestures were.
Unitree G1, Dobot, TCL and Hisense robots at IFA: dancing and gestures
The IFA Next area, dedicated to innovation and start-ups, hosted the largest humanoid robot exhibition in the show’s history this year. Several units of the G1, Unitree’s humanoid model, danced in formation to music. The movements were not always smooth, with some robots wobbling or struggling to keep pace with the others. The units that had shown off boxing skills earlier were set aside to rest while the others danced.
The Dobot stand featured another dancing robot, shaped like a panda. At TCL, the AiMe home robot followed visitors’ gestures with its eyes and answered a wave with a similar gesture. Hisense’s home robot moved through the aisles and communicated through facial expressions shown on its screen.
Pudu Robotics D7: European debut at IFA 2026
Industrial robots also stood out. Pudu Robotics’ D5, a quadruped model known in Korea as a service robot, demonstrated its ability to inspect and patrol facilities, climbing stairs and slopes. Next to it was the D7, designed for production and logistics, from moving materials to retrieving and assembling objects at height. A Pudu spokesperson said it was the robot’s first appearance in Europe.
According to analysis firm TrendForce, Chinese humanoid robot production is expected to grow by 94% this year, and the market should reach 24 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) next year.
Robot vacuums and lawn mowers at IFA 2026: Dreame and Roborock
IFA 2026 also showed how the robot vacuum, already found in many homes, is evolving. China’s Dreame unveiled a model that switches to mopping mode when its AI camera detects a spill, with a roller that extends up to 8 centimeters, and uses steam to loosen dried-on dirt. It is said to recognize more than 320 types of objects. Roborock, for its part, targeted the outdoors: its Lawn Mower Z1 Lidar maps the shape of a garden, detects obstacles and plans its own route, climbs steps of up to eight centimeters and handles slopes of around 39 degrees.
Visitor reactions were mixed, ranging from enthusiasm to wariness. Because homes vary widely in layout and use, and the profitability of household robots remains uncertain, robots built for production, retail or specialized tasks are spreading faster than their domestic counterparts. “IFA 2026 has far more robots than last year, but it feels like we are still a long way from a robot that can handle all the housework,” said a visitor who came with her two children. “They are still too slow and too expensive.”
AGCO to pilot Agility Robotics’ Digit humanoid robot at its Kansas factory from 2027
On Saturday, the show had scheduled an event called “Robots on the Runway”, in which humanoid and quadruped robots from Unitree, AgiBot, Dobot and Deep Robotics were to perform flips, dances and poses on the same stage.
Further reading: Unitree G1: specifications, price and demonstrations · Unitree: the maker of the affordable humanoid robot