XPENG IRON

XPENG's Iron humanoid robot represents the Chinese electric vehicle maker's ambitious expansion into robotics, leveraging autonomous driving expertise for bipedal machines. The next-generation Iron, unveiled at AI Day 2025, pushes the boundaries of human-like robot design with motion so natural that XPENG had to physically open the robot on stage to prove no human was inside.

Iron stands 178 cm tall and weighs 70 kg, featuring 82 degrees of freedom—among the highest in the industry. The robot includes a humanoid spine for natural bending, bionic muscles, flexible full-body skin with embedded touch sensors, and a 3D curved display on its head for expression. Each hand contains 22 degrees of freedom with industry-leading compact harmonic joints enabling precise manipulation like grabbing eggs and unscrewing bottle caps.

The robot runs on XPENG's second-generation VLA (Vision-Language-Action) model, powered by three proprietary Turing AI chips delivering a combined 2,250 TOPS of computing power. The AI architecture combines three large models: VLT (Vision-Language-Task) serves as the core engine for autonomous decision-making, VLA handles action execution, and VLM provides vision-language understanding—all derived from XPENG's automotive autonomous driving technology.

A groundbreaking innovation is Iron's all-solid-state battery—the first in any humanoid robot. Solid-state batteries use ceramics or polymers instead of flammable liquid electrolytes, providing enhanced safety for home and office environments along with lightweight design and high energy density. The Eagle-Eye 720° vision system provides comprehensive spatial awareness for navigation and manipulation.

Iron offers customizable body features including adjustable height, physique, and even male/female presentation. The synthetic skin can be modified to suit various professional contexts. XPENG aims for mass production by end of 2026, with initial deployments as tour guides, sales assistants, and facility guides. The company estimates 70% of Iron's technology derives from its EV platform. Strategic partner Baosteel will be the first industrial ecosystem partner, and XPENG has released an SDK for global developers.