Chinese robotics firms prioritize wheels over legs for warehouse efficiency

Chinese robotics companies are prioritising wheeled and multi-armed machines for logistics and manufacturing over humanoid designs, arguing that practical efficiency should trump anthropomorphic form.

Wheels beat legs for warehouse work

X Square Robot's two-armed WALL-B model sorted 1,816 packages in a controlled hour-long test this month, outperforming US start-up Figure AI's bipedal Figure 03 robot, which averaged 1,248 parcels an hour, according to the company. "If wheels can get the job done, do we really need two legs?" asked Yang Li, senior engineer at X Square Robot.

Entertainment versus deployment

While Unitree Robotics drew crowds at the World Robot Conference with bipedal models playing table tennis and sparring in fighting matches—demonstrations showcasing speed, balance and coordination only recently achieved in the industry—much of the exhibition floor featured robots performing unglamorous tasks. Machines across the halls sorted parcels, loaded production lines and moved materials, many rolling on wheels or using conventional robotic arms.

At the same conference, AI2 Robotics deployed a wheeled robot that made coffee and ice cream for visitors, switching between a gripper and a dexterous hand depending on the task. The contrast underscores an industry shift from flashy choreography—kickboxing routines and dance performances—toward real-world deployment where function dictates form.

Source: South China Morning Post