- New center hosts 136 robots and dozens of companies to test commercial use cases
- City experiments with human-robot co-governed community to accelerate industrial adoption
Hangzhou stepped up its ambitions in embodied AI on March 27 with the launch of a new exhibition and application promotion center in the Binjiang high-tech zone, aiming to bridge the long-standing gap between robotics research and large-scale commercial deployment.
This move comes as cities across China are racing against each other to industrialize next-generation AI technologies.
The facility, located in Binjiang District’s Zhizao Valley industrial park, is designed as a pilot platform to move embodied AI systems — machines capable of perceiving and acting in physical environments — from laboratory prototypes into production and everyday services.
Officials said the project will serve as a key conversion channel linking research, testing and industrial rollout.
Covering 8,813 square meters, the center hosts 136 robots developed by over 40 companies across the embodied-intelligence supply chain, alongside research teams including those from Zhejiang University.
The site functions as a comprehensive ecosystem platform combining demonstration, testing and industry collaboration.
Visitors encounter robots performing practical tasks rather than staged demonstrations: machines prepare coffee and meals, compete in robotic combat exhibitions, assist with board games and deliver intelligent therapy services.
These immersive experiences are intended to illustrate how robots could evolve from tools into autonomous workers embedded in daily economic activity.
Beyond exhibitions, the project anchors a broader experiment — the creation of what organizers describe as China’s first “human-robot co-governed” community.
Within the surrounding tech park, robots are expected to operate supermarkets, breakfast shops, logistics stations and performance venues, while also supporting roles such as security patrol and basic medical consultation.
The goal is to generate real operating data and scalable deployment models for embodied AI applications across public services and industry.
Shen Chunhua, a Changjiang Scholar professor at Zhejiang University, said embodied AI research has long been constrained by limited real-world testing environments and application scenarios.
“The new center provides a critical platform to overcome those bottlenecks,” he said.
A high-level task perception model jointly developed through the center has already entered training using shared computing resources, with initial results expected to be released in August.
Researchers like Shen hope the initiative will help bring embodied intelligence out of controlled environments and into real production settings, accelerating commercialization and integration into the physical economy.
