China expands military humanoid robotics research

Chinese military institutions are testing humanoid robots against battlefield requirements, seeking systems for research and examining how the machines could operate alongside troops. Reuters, in reporting published by AsiaOne, based that assessment on a review of more than 100 procurement notices, academic studies, patents, government records and defense company materials.

The evidence points to an expanding research program rather than an operational capability. Reuters found no evidence that an armed humanoid has been deployed with a People’s Liberation Army unit. Current machines remain energy intensive and unreliable outside controlled demonstrations, with rough terrain and unpredictable surroundings exposing persistent weaknesses in locomotion, perception and decision making.

Work accelerated during 2025 and 2026, particularly around perception, manipulation and training data. The PLA can draw on a large domestic robotics industry while pursuing military humanoid robots. BofA Global Research estimated that Chinese manufacturers accounted for about 95 percent of global humanoid shipments in 2025, according to Reuters.

Procurement reaches beyond robot hardware

Military interest was visible by 2024, when the National University of Defense Technology and the PLA Academy of Military Sciences hosted a defense technology forum that included military applications for humanoid systems. DongA Science identified the event as the second National Defense Science and Technology Heights Forum, where humanoid robot systems and technologies formed one of four subcommittees.

NUDT followed with practical evaluations. Its June 2025 Yongzhi Cup competition included a simulated mission in which robots entered an area, mapped it and located targets. Other proposed tasks covered identity checks, discipline inspections and patrols at military bases. The university described the competition as a proving ground for humanoids to eventually enter battlefield use, according to Reuters and DongA Science.

Procurement notices provide a second line of evidence. A May 2025 PLA tender sought a humanoid robot along with installation and technical training. Four months later, a notice carrying an NUDT email address requested an embodied humanoid system for intelligent perception and dexterous operation. Reuters could not establish whether either contract was awarded, which supplier might have won, or what models were involved.

In June 2026, the PLA budgeted about $300,000 for a system to collect and label camera, radar and motion data for humanoids, including information about terrain they could traverse. The request indicates that the program includes the data infrastructure needed to train perception and mobility systems, not only the acquisition of robot bodies.

Norinco adds a remotely operated platform

China’s state owned defense industry is also presenting its own hardware. Norinco materials published in August described Fuxi, a full size humanoid intended for sentry duty, all weather reconnaissance, intelligent patrols and hazardous missions. The company says Fuxi can connect to its teleoperation system, allowing a human operator to control the robot remotely.

Teleoperation reduces the immediate need for full autonomy and keeps a person in the control loop, but it does not resolve basic deployment problems such as endurance, communications reliability and robust movement over damaged or obstructed terrain. Norinco did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, and the source material provides no independent field evaluation of Fuxi’s claimed capabilities.

Urban combat remains a planning scenario

An August 2025 NUDT paper modeled six combat robots, including humanoids, quadrupeds and unmanned vehicles, divided between two assault teams. Working with soldiers, the systems would clear an occupied building room by room. The researchers projected that suitable equipment could become available within five to 10 years, but did not specify weapons, rules of engagement or procedures for civilian encounters.

Humanoid morphology could offer an advantage in buildings, tunnels and ship interiors designed around human movement and manipulation, Taiwan defense researcher Juo Min Chou told Reuters. She also cautioned that wheeled, tracked or quadruped robots would generally be cheaper and easier to deploy for simpler reconnaissance and logistics work.

China is not alone in studying this category. The US Army launched a competition for militarized humanoid capabilities, listing reconnaissance, security, obstacle clearing, hazardous material work and urban offensive or defensive missions among possible roles. Up to 10 finalists were expected to test systems with military experts, with as much as $1.25 million available in follow on contracts.

China’s defense ministry said in March that AI powered weapons should remain under human control. For the nearer term, the larger constraints are still technical. Wang Yonghua of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences has identified unresolved problems in movement, perception and intelligence, while arguing that lower costs, industrial scale production and major technical improvements would be required before humanoids could become widely used military systems.

Sources: AsiaOne, DongA Science