China’s avant-garde automaker Xiaopeng rocked the world not with its EVs but with its audacious ambition for an actual flying car and a now-in-production van with a VTOL built into it, called the HT Aero Land Air Carrier. The company has yet again rocked the world—this time with a humanoid robot called IRON.
Xiaopeng’s humanoid robot has been in development for a while now, but what really left the world in awe was the latest iteration debuted at Xiaopeng’s 2025 Tech Day. It isn’t what IRON [CH] can do that impresses, but how it walks. IRON debuted as a “female” model of the humanoid robot that—get this—does the catwalk like a supermodel.
That’s right, my fellow tech enthusiasts. While many robotics companies are still stuck with that Asimov-style constipated walking movements, IRON is already walking like a human. The demonstration at Xiaopeng’s 2025 Tech Day was so impressive that it bordered on surreal. So much so that folks in China doubted it was even real. Some consumers thought it was a human dressed up as a robot to fool the public.
After the keynote, the team behind IRON—flabbergasted by the accusations—asked their boss to make a continuous-shot video to prove that IRON is real. The founder, clearly delighted that people were talking about it, agreed to make the video.
In the video, he pointed out that the so-called indents that looked like ears were actually microphones—two on each side—placed there to mimic human ears. Though he fell short of cutting the skin open to reveal those “microphones,” it’s worth noting that throughout the video, you could hear faint sounds of fans, supposedly from the robot, whenever the camera got near the machine.
In the video [CH], one staff member proceeded to unzip the back of IRON, revealing the honeycomb shell with some vaguely visible electronics inside, while two others rolled up the “sleeves” to expose the mechanical arms. Before this, IRON had walked to the center of the stage, proving it was not a dummy unit. Anyhoo, it has mechanical arms, all right. Though we couldn’t see much of the back since it had a cover.
Xiaopeng knew there would still be doubts even after this vertical video. The next day, Xiaopeng was back on stage with IRON, and this time, they had the staff cut open the “skin” on the left leg of IRON on stage to expose the mechanical makeup.
Still, the internet wasn’t convinced—some thought it might be an amputee with mechanical legs. I don’t blame the crowd. After all, humans masquerading as robots to pass off as the real deal isn’t new. Also, with the amount of deception (read: conspiracies) the world has seen—especially from the West—you can’t blame consumers for being skeptical.
So, the best way to prove your tech is to make it real and put it to work. That said, Xiaopeng stated that IRON is already deployed in factories (presumably in Xiaopeng’s automobile plants) as part of its testing phase. As a tech enthusiast, I believe Xiaopeng has realized a naturally walking bipedal robot—until proven otherwise.
Anyhoo, as far as IRON goes, it is designed to mimic human structure and proportions. It stands 178 cm tall and weighs 70 kilograms, and features a 1:1 replica of human hand dimensions, boasting 22 degrees of freedom. In addition to autonomous and natural walking, with a steady gait and fluid posture, the eventual product will boast active reasoning and thinking and be able to carry out conversations just like us humans. Absolutely mind-blowing—well, that’s if you have faith that it’s real.
Images: Weibo (小鹏机器人) [CH].