UBTech Robotics has just presented in Shenzhen its first robot not designed for industrial environments, but to be used in domestic environments. It’s called U1, it has silicone skin, real hair and an “emotional AI” that according to the manufacturer remembers the conversations it has had with you for months. Welcome to companion robots and loneliness as a business.
Three versions, three price ranges. The U1 comes in Lite, Pro and Ultra variants, with prices ranging from 15,500 to 127,000 euros for the most advanced model. They exist in a male (183 cm) and female (168 cm) version, and have 88 servo joints and an “emotional artificial intelligence” that runs locally thanks to a Rockchip RK3588 chip that does not depend on the cloud to process user data.
Beyond the chatbot with legs. The U1 maintains eye contact, recognizes moods from tone of voice and facial expression and, according to the manufacturer, responds with a latency of just 20 milliseconds. At UBTech they present it as a robot that builds a relationship over time, not as something you chat with occasionally. The robot remembers and learns from previous conversations and adapts its behavior according to the detected mood.
The demand is already there. The company has not yet manufactured a single unit, but its managers claim to have already received more than 13,000 reservations for these robots. Deliveries will begin in September, although full-scale production will take time. At UBTech they have already reached an agreement with Siemens to manufacture 10,000 units per year.
Loneliness as a business. The company’s data indicates that in China alone there are 90 million adults who live alone and 118 million seniors whose children no longer live with them. The robot can remind them to take medication, detect signs of fatigue and stress, and offer constant companionship. A UBTech executive highlighted how these robots will never “betray or abandon” their owners.
Disturbing customization. If the user pays more, UBTech promises the ability to customize the robot’s face and hair to look like anyone: a partner who has passed away, a child who has left home, or even a fictional character. It is an option that brings us closer to the uncanny valley and that once again raises an important ethical and moral debate. One that in China they seem to have overcome, because for a long time there have been companies that create deepfakes of loved ones who died. It is inevitable to remember that episode of Black Mirror titled ‘Be Right Back’ that precisely proposed this future that UBTech now promises us.
But the limits are there. The U1 robot has important limitations. The battery has a maximum autonomy of four hours, and the robot does not perform household tasks such as cooking or cleaning because it is not designed for that. Nor does it do something that many will wonder: no intimate relationships. The company insists that all data from conversations with robots is encrypted and is not used to train its AI models.
China continues to tighten the screws on global robotics. This launch once again demonstrates the Asian giant’s ambition to dominate this market. According to Barclays data, last year the country already concentrated 85% of all humanoid robot integrations in the world. More than 140 Chinese companies have already launched 330 different models, and that this type of robots will reach the home seems inevitable.
Promises and realities. In South China Morning Post they share a video in which those attending the launch commented on their impressions of these robots. Although they were impressed with the synthetic skin of the robots, they also highlighted that the response times are very long and the conversations lack naturalness. However, we are facing a very premature version of robots that will undoubtedly advance significantly in the short term. Today there are more promises than realities: things may be very different in one or two years. But it also may not.
In | China wants to teach the rest of the world a lesson by turning robots into butlers. The problem is that a house is not a factory
