The Zhejiang Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center, established in December 2023 in Ningbo with support from the municipal government and the team of Professor Shun Zhong from Zhejiang University, is at the forefront of commercial humanoid implementation. The NAVIAI line from this center, which utilizes 90% domestic components, is successfully operating in the facilities of SUPCON, GREE, JACK, and FOTILE.
Major Order and Technical Specifications
In April 2026, a landmark contract was signed with Jack Technology to supply 2000 units of robots for clothing manufacturing, marking the first batch for global application in the apparel sector. These robots are capable of achieving 98% fabric separation, performing operations in 3 seconds, and ensuring alignment with an error margin of plus-minus 2 mm, approaching 80% of human efficiency.
NAVIAI Product Matrix
The NAVIAI product line includes three types of form factors. Stationary robots are designed for clothing manufacturing workstations where movement is not required and feature a lower cost. Wheeled arm robots, such as NAVIAI-WA2, are equipped with an advanced bionic arm with 8 degrees of freedom, providing a re-positioning accuracy of plus-minus 0.02 mm, 6 hours of autonomy, and the ability to overcome obstacles up to 20 degrees. Bipedal robots are used for security patrolling, exhibition escort, and entertainment, as they can climb stairs and navigate obstacles.
Architecture and International Development
The brain of these robots combines an autonomous cognitive system for planning and perception with a real-time control system analogous to the cerebellum. In May 2026, the RAM system was introduced—a three-dimensional spatial model developed jointly with CUHK and Zhejiang University—which supplements large models with accessible 3D knowledge to connect semantic reasoning and precise manipulation.
International expansion accelerated in 2026. The first major deployment occurred at the BEKO refrigerator factory in Turkey, where the European appliance manufacturer chose quality control as the initial scenario. The Zhejiang Center provided the hardware and software and participated in joint on-site engineering work. In March 2026, at the LogiMAT exhibition in Germany, the NAVIAI-WA2 operated continuously for three days without failure during a smart logistics demonstration involving KION Group, a giant in industrial vehicles and supply chain solutions. In July, the center participated in the IPLUSMOBOT event at AUTOMATE 2026, North America's largest robotics exhibition, where the full-sized bipedal NAVIAI-I2 was showcased. It performed precise sorting, autonomous walking, and voice interaction in fluent English with a response delay to audience questions of less than 3 seconds.
Strategy and Industry Future
CTO Xu Xuecheng explained the company's strategy: first perfecting products within the internal operations of foreign groups, and then mass-producing them in Europe and North America. The company focuses on performing tedious and dangerous tasks rather than replacing jobs that employees fight for. NaviStore retail kiosks offer guide functions, cup dispensing, and ice cream preparation with a 3-second voice delay, 98% recognition, and 99.9% capture success. Xu predicts the emergence of home humanoids in about a decade. Chinese humanoid robotics is transforming from equipment demonstration to business model validation.
