A KEENON humanoid robot poses in a “heart” position for visitors at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on July 27, 2025. 

In the Jinqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, KEENON Robotics, a national-level “Little Giant” (innovative SME), is leading the transformation of the service robots industry. Amid the wave of embodied intelligence development, the humanoid service robots created by this company have become a focal point of the industry and businesses alike.

How Are Humanoid Robots Deployed?

At KEENON’s robot exhibition area, a humanoid robot stands in front of a popcorn machine, scooping up a serving of popcorn, accurately placing it into a paper packet, and then setting the packet on the table – all done with smooth, precise movements.

This humanoid robot is the XMAN-R1, launched in March 2025. As an embodied service robot, the XMAN-R1 is suitable for restaurants and hotels, capable of meeting diverse complex demands and providing thoughtful services to customers.

Most of KEENON’s products fall under the category of service robots. Unlike industrial robots used in factories, these service robots are primarily applied in the service industry and daily life.

So, why did KEENON decide to focus their production on the service robots sector?

Li Tong, founder and CEO of KEENON, explained that the service industry is facing a labor shortage, and where there is demand, there is market potential.

“Take the catering industry as an example: a waiter in a restaurant walks over 30,000 steps a day. The work is repetitive and monotonous, offering little room for growth, making it difficult for restaurants to hire staff,” Li told China Today. To address this, KEENON developed delivery robots. In 2018, its delivery robots were first deployed in Haidilao’s smart restaurants in Beijing. Since then, an increasing number of restaurants have embraced robot-based food serving, generating substantial orders for KEENON. Simultaneously, the company expanded into other service sectors: entering the hotel robot market in 2021, followed by the medical and cleaning robot sectors in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

By 2025, embodied intelligence had become a hot topic. It refers to intelligent agents interacting with the environment in real-time through physical entities, integrating perception, cognition, decision-making, and action. Simply put, it gives intelligent agents a physical form, which can be humanoid or other shapes.

But for all KEENON’s prior achievements in non-humanoid robots, why did it shift focus to humanoid robots as a primary R&D direction?

“Humanoid robots hold a unique place in robotics because our world is designed for humans – with tables, chairs, doors, and other features of daily life all being tailored to human proportions and needs. Thus, humanoid robots adapt better to human environments than other forms of robots,” said Li.

As a global leader in the embodied service robots industry, KEENON launched its new humanoid embodied service robot, the XMAN-F1, in July 2025. Building on the XMAN-R1, the new version features bipedal design. Leveraging bionic motion control and bipedal dynamic balancing technology, it can navigate complex environments such as steps, slopes, and stairs in restaurants, hotels, medical facilities, and retail settings. Through whole-body coordination control, the new robot maintains stable movement even in cramped spaces and crowded areas, balancing efficiency and safety. “We hope humanoid robots can not only run and jump but also work effectively to serve humanity better,” said Li.

Craftsmanship into Tech Innovation

Designed for the service industry, KEENON’s robots encounter more complex scenarios compared to specialized robots used in industrial settings. “From a product development perspective, we’ve essentially chosen a ‘hard’ mode for ourselves,” said Tang Xuanlai, the company’s chief technology officer (CTO). “Firstly, service robots operate in highly dynamic environments. For instance, foot traffic in a restaurant is never constant, and the robots must reliably perceive these nuanced changes. Secondly, they need to interact with people, not primarily through language, but through actions and behavior. This demands robust perception and decision-making capabilities in crowded, complex spaces.”

To ensure reliable performance, every robot undergoes extensive testing. In KEENON’s testing area, engineers simulate various real-world application scenarios to validate quality. China Today observed robots being tested on different floor surfaces and slopes, mimicking potential challenges they might face.

“Testing primarily addresses issues encountered during actual operation,” explained Zhu Xiaojun, head of KEENON’s government affairs department. “For example, if a cleaning robot stops during operation, our data systems give feedback about the reason – it could be due to a slope angle, floor material, or a hardware fault. By analyzing vast amounts of returned data, we optimize algorithms and models, and sometimes make fine adjustments to the hardware.”

A current major challenge for KEENON is developing a truly “intelligent core” for its robots. According to the company, humanoid robots have both a “brain” responsible for cognitive decisions and a “cerebellum” managing motion control. Training the “brain” relies heavily on data. Deng Wenqiang, head of KEENON’s Embodied AI Lab, indicated that data collection is a key focus for future development.

“Humanoid robots are still some way from large-scale commercialization, as their development follows a necessary cycle. We hope the public can view it objectively,” said Li. “Our company is now devoted to developing intelligent agents, hoping to integrate robots into people’s daily lives as soon as possible.”

Chinese Robots Work Overseas

As one of the first Chinese commercial service robot companies to expand globally, KEENON is also the world’s leader in shipment volume for such robots, having delivered over 100,000 units to date. Currently, with five subsidiaries and offices overseas, its business spans more than 600 cities in excess of 60 countries, and its robots have completed over 1.23 billion service tasks worldwide.

Li noted that the ratio of exports to domestic sales for the company’s robots is approximately 1:1, which reflects a balanced strategy of “walking on two legs” – developing both the international and domestic markets in tandem. “In the past, ‘Made in China’ products were often associated primarily with competitive pricing in the global market. In reality, many Chinese smart terminal products, including our service robots, not only outperform their foreign counterparts in functionality but also remain more affordable. Meanwhile, we benefit from significant supply chain and talent advantages, with the Yangtze River Delta region hosting numerous robotics supply chain enterprises and a concentration of highly skilled professionals. These are key factors that are enabling Chinese service robots to go global,” said Li.

The technological leadership, rapid iteration development, and efficient supply chain of China’s high-tech manufacturing sector are fully demonstrated in Keenon’s international expansion.

During its global expansion, KEENON has paid close attention to localized market needs through thorough research. For example, since restaurants in Japan are often compact, robots destined for that market are designed to be smaller. Wan Bin, the company’s chief operating officer (COO), told China Today that the T8 model exported to Japan can navigate aisles as narrow as 50 centimeters wide to adapt to market requirements. “We make adjustments based on local business needs,” said Wan.

Regarding the question of whether robots might replace human jobs, Li has his own perspective: “Our philosophy is to let robots handle mechanical tasks, which can allow humans to focus on providing good services and creating unparalleled emotional experiences – that’s something irreplaceable. Our products in markets like Japan, South Korea, Europe, and America are meant to assist with repetitive foundational work, not to entirely replace human labor. Next, we will continue to develop robots for medical and elderly care fields, further broadening our market.”