BEIJING, May 08 (News On Japan) - A humanoid robot malfunctioned during a live demo in China, violently swinging at engineers and causing chaos, sparking viral reactions and comparisons to sci-fi movies.
The incident highlights rising concerns as advanced humanoid robots like Clone Robotics’ Protoclone, Chery’s Mornine, and Berkeley’s DIY humanoid continue to emerge worldwide. With major companies like Hyundai and igus deploying robots in factories, the rapid growth of robotics and artificial intelligence is starting to blur the line between automation and autonomy.
In China, a car company is now using life-sized blonde humanoids in sunglasses to sell vehicles in showrooms. Over in Germany, a robotics firm has rolled out a full-on humanoid worker that runs for eight hours straight — and costs less than a Tesla. And in California? UC Berkeley just launched a $5,000 DIY humanoid you can literally 3D print at home.
Meanwhile, Hyundai is going full sci-fi — bringing Boston Dynamics' Atlas into its new U.S. factory to help build 300,000 electric cars a year. Yeah, that Atlas. The one doing parkour.
Let’s break this down.
The viral clip came from Belarusian outlet Nexa — factory cam footage showing a half-assembled robot dangling from a crane, undergoing routine testing. Everything was chill until the servos spiked. Suddenly the robot went full meltdown — swinging, kicking, dragging its mount across the floor. Engineers bolted. Equipment flew. The chaos lasted 20 seconds and lit up social media.
But the bigger story is what’s happening next.
China’s Cherry Automotive has teamed up with robotics startup AI MOA to deploy Mourin, a humanoid showroom assistant who looks like an android influencer. She hands out bottled water, answers customer questions with a pleasant robotic voice, and yes — has wraparound shades hiding a full 360-degree camera array. One is already greeting shoppers in Malaysia. They’ve ordered 220 more.
In Germany, motion plastics company Igus built a humanoid named Iggy Rob — and priced it to undercut almost everyone. For about $54K, you get a torso with two robotic arms, a mobile base, and enough smarts to operate in an actual factory. No fluff, just practical automation. They'll even send you one to test — and fly in an engineer if it works out.
Berkeley’s version? A tiny humanoid you can 3D print, wire up with cheap actuators, and train at home. It stands just under a meter tall, powered by open-source code and a mini PC. It’s not going to build your next car, but it might build the next generation of roboticists — Reddit’s already calling it the Raspberry Pi of humanoids.
And then there's Hyundai. After acquiring Boston Dynamics, they’re putting Atlas to work in their $21 billion investment in U.S. EV manufacturing. These robots can walk factory floors, climb stairs, and replace human motion in environments built for people — no retrofitting needed. It’s efficient, it’s fast, and yeah… unions are nervous.
So what happens when the robots that sell cars also build them... and might just replace your job next?
Source: AI Revolution
