Chinese EV giant’s 31-joint humanoid robot could soon greet you at the car dealership

What happened

Chinese automaker BYD has unveiled the design of its first self-developed humanoid (a robot built in roughly human shape) robot, marking a broader push into embodied AI and robotics that could eventually see the company deploy autonomous machines across its factories and dealerships. Although the design resembles BYD’s previously teased humanoid robot , known as Xiao Di, the company has not confirmed whether the patent depicts the final production model.

Designed for real-world interaction The newly revealed design features a black-and-white body, a rounded head without a display and articulated joints across its torso, arms and legs. The design appeared in a patent published by China’s National Intellectual Property Administration, describing a robot designed to walk, maintain balance and interact with its surroundings. The patent points to potential applications in service, education and industrial environments.