- More than 200 teams competed in China’s robot contest focused on real industrial deployment scenarios
- Self-developed quadruped robots stood out in autonomous mobility and all-terrain obstacle navigation
A quadruped robot team from Galileo Technology, a startup in northern China’s Tianjin, emerged as the top winner at the 2026 Hangzhou International Embodied Robot Scenario Application Competition, highlighting China’s growing focus on deploying robots in practical industrial settings rather than staged demonstrations.
The two-day competition concluded on May 16 in Hangzhou’s Yunqi Town, a high-tech park, after attracting more than 200 teams. Galileo’s “Tiejia Tianbao,” or Iron Leopard, team outperformed rivals with its self-developed quadruped robots, excelling in mobility, motion control and all-terrain obstacle crossing.
Unlike traditional robotics competitions centered on entertainment-style performances, all tasks in the event were designed around real operational challenges provided by companies including Ant Group and Greentown China.
Participating robots were required to complete tasks fully autonomously without the use of remote controls.
Galileo develops biomimetic robots, embodied AI platforms and radar-related technologies, spanning research, manufacturing and deployment. The company says it has built its robotics systems entirely in-house, covering everything from hardware structure and motor joints to motion-control algorithms, and has accumulated more than 300 patents and software copyrights.
Its product portfolio includes quadruped, wheeled-quadruped, explosion-proof quadruped and humanoid robots. One of its flagship products, the EX-1 intelligent explosion-proof quadruped robot, is described as China’s first electrically driven explosion-proof legged robot.
According to publicly available company information, Galileo’s quadruped robots use self-developed balance-control algorithms and adaptive posture-adjustment systems that allow them to maintain stability across rough terrain and complex obstacles while resisting external disturbances during movement.
The company’s technical capabilities span autonomous balance, environmental perception and dynamic path planning, while also addressing industrial bottlenecks in explosion-proof robotics systems.
Company founder Yang Kai previously told an interview that Galileo entered the explosion-proof robotics sector because such capabilities are essential in industries including oil and chemicals.
Since 2018, the team has focused on overcoming challenges involving compact high-rigidity explosion-proof joint modules and full-body electrostatic protection systems.
Its robots have since been deployed at industrial sites operated by state refiners PetroChina and CNOOC, with large-scale deployments across 26 provinces spanning rail transit, industrial inspection, emergency response and smart security applications.
