Ant Group Enters โRobotics Race with R1 Humanoid โฃRobot
Shanghai, China – Ant Group, the โfinancial technology giant affiliated with Alibaba, has thrown its hat into the increasingly crowded robotics arena withโข theโ unveiling of โคits first humanoidโฃ robot, theโ R1. The debut, made at the Inclusion Conference in Shanghaiโค on Thursday, signals aโ significant push by the company into “embodied โartificial intelligence” – โessentially, โbringing โAI into the physical world.
The R1, developedโฃ by Ant’s newly formed โrobotics division, Ant lingbo Technology (alsoโ known as Robbyant), is a wheeled, two-armed humanoid designed for practical applications. During the conference, one R1 was on display while another demonstrated its capabilities in a mock kitchen setting, skillfully adding ingredients to aโ wok.
According toโค Antโฃ Group, the first-generation R1 weighs 110kg and stands between 1.6 and 1.75 โmeters tall. It can move at speeds under 1.5 meters per second and boastsโข 34 degrees of freedom, allowing forโ a versatile โrange of motion. The company envisions theโฃ R1 performing โฃtasks such as acting as a chef, providing guided tours, or executingโ remotely controlled operations.
notably, โฃtheโค R1 is already in production and has begun shippingโฃ to clients, including the Shanghai History โคMuseum.However, Antโ Group isn’t planningโ to โsell the R1 โas a standalone product. Instead, the robots will be offered as partโ of comprehensiveโ “scenario โsolutions,” โฃtailored to specific client needs. A second-generation model is โคalready in growth,suggestingโ a commitment to rapid iteration and improvement.
Ant โคLingbo Technology wasโค establishedโ in Shanghai at the close โขof 2024 and officially launched in March,โ with strong support from localโค officials and Ant Groupโ leadership, including โChairman Eric Jing Xiandong and CEO Cyril Han Xinyi. A further subsidiary was opened in Hangzhouโฃ in August.
“We are โnewcomers to this field, focusing โon developing intelligence,” stated โZhu Xing, CEO of Robbyant. “Ant Group has consistently investedโ inโฃ life services – encompassingโฃ public welfare, healthcare, and finance. Robbyantโ aims to leverage embodied intelligence to seamlessly extend Ant’s digital services into โฃthe physical world, creating more impactful and accessible solutions.”
Theโ launch positionsโค Ant Group as a new competitor alongsideโ established robotics firms likeโ Unitreeโค Robotics, โขintensifying the race to develop practical and commercially viable humanoid robots.This move underscoresโค the growing belief that embodied AI will play a crucial โคrole in the future of technology and service industries.
Keywords: Ant group, Robotics, Humanoid Robot, AI,โ Artificial Intelligence,โค R1, Ant Lingbo โคTechnology, Unitree โขrobotics, Shanghai, Technology News, Fintech, Alibaba.