Editor: Editorial Department
This robot dog has been sold all over the Internet, and Douyin and Xiaohongshu are crazy about planting grass! After five years of hard work, no one asked, and he became famous all over the world in one fell swoop. In the first year of embodied intelligence, it was this company that first ran through the C-end and landed commercialization?
What is it like to have your first robot dog?
Recently, there has been a craze for planting grass robot dogs on Douyin and Xiaohongshu.
Families with babies have posted happy dog walking videos.
This tide of robot dogs sweeping the whole network actually has extraordinary significance in the industry.
In 2024, known as the "first year of embodied intelligence", the blessing of LLM will make the technology more and more sexy - humanoid robots will finally begin to grow "brains".
Star robots such as Figure 02, Atlas, 1X, and Optimus Prime continue to attract hot attention from the outside world.
In China, the bigwigs in universities and industries have started their own businesses, and old robot manufacturers have also joined the battle.
However, the undeniable fact is that although the industry is hot, the landing is cold.
Boston Dynamics' demo has amazed the audience countless times, but it has changed hands four times because the problem of commercialization cannot be solved.
Is it really so difficult to break through the commercialization problem of embodied intelligence?
Just today, the BabyAlpha released by Azure Technology made our eyes shine.
Most of the new directions for the C-end landing in the field of embodied intelligence, which have not yet been found in the industry, have been run through by this domestic company?
Commercialize the most successful companies, what they do
Judging from the data, Azure Technology has become the most successful company in the commercialization of embodied intelligence.
In October 2021, the first product was officially sold. As soon as the Alpha Robot Dog C series was released, the number of pre-sale orders exceeded the team's expectations, and nearly 10,000 units were pre-sold in one go.
At present, the sales of BabyAlpha have exceeded the sales of all other quadruped robots combined.
It can be said that as a dark horse in the embodied intelligence industry, it is "no one asks after five years of hard work, and it becomes famous all over the world in one fell swoop".
Since the product was launched in December 2023, it has achieved remarkable results, and has achieved full coverage in all provinces of the country so far. Including online WeChat mini program, Tmall, JD.com, Douyin platform, as well as the full matrix coverage of offline sales network.
In JD.com, BabyAlpha has become the industry's first in the category of intelligent robots.
In July this year, Azure Technology opened the world's first artificial intelligence robot experience store in Nanjing Deji Plaza.
In Deji Plaza, a landmark business district in Nanjing, every time this group of robot dogs appears in a flash mob, they can instantly detonate the audience and arouse the onlookers of the entire floor
Not only that, but its business has also extended overseas, mainly in Europe, America, Japan and South Korea.
If we have an in-depth understanding of the current situation in the industry, we will understand how difficult it is for this company to hand over this report card.
The popularity of embodied intelligence has soared, and commercialization is still far from reality
A major breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence has allowed the stagnant embodied intelligence industry to regain its own aura.
In the venture capital circle in 2024, in addition to large models, the hottest topic is embodied intelligence.
However, as of now, no robot company has been able to truly commercialize.
Technical
The three layers of the body, the brain, and the cerebellum make up embodied intelligence.
First of all, what kind of form is it and what kind of scene it is suitable for. The industry agrees that the human form is the best form of embodied intelligence, and it is also the most versatile form.
In terms of the commercial landing cycle, the human form is not necessarily the end of embodied intelligence.
How dexterous operation hardware can be robust in the field environment and cost-effective at the same time is an important prerequisite for implementation.
Secondly, in addition to the appearance design and hardware configuration, the core is the breakthrough of technical algorithms.
The large model constitutes the "brain" of the robot, and its intelligence must be proportional to the composition of the model. At the same time, how to make the "cerebellum" realize the decision-making hierarchy and control the robot movement is reflected in the algorithm skills.
Other experts believe that the biggest difficulty is the lack of real data on interactions with the physical world. Without data, robots can't make good sense of the world.
It is undeniable that robots must have sufficient generalization ability in order to achieve commercialization and industrialization success.
Market perspective
Another factor that restricts the majority of robot manufacturers from transforming technology into products is, of course, cost.
Figure series robots, with an estimated cost of between $30,000 and $150,000; Tesla's Optimus 2 could cost between $25,000 and $30,000.
Boston Dynamics, which is the ceiling of robot sports, has a robot dog that cost $74,500 per unit four years ago.
Even the cost of self-made robots in colleges and universities remains high - the Stanford stir-fry robot that exploded on the Internet is $30,000; The open-world self-learning robot built by the CMU research team is $25,000.
Obviously, this high price to the cloud is not in any way created for taking the path of commercialization that is close to the people.
And whoever can take the lead in this road will be able to take the lead in the battle of large-scale commercialization and become the Apple and Tesla of the next era.
At the time of the competition, this domestic company took the lead in handing in the papers.
Domestic companies rely on self-research to get out of a new track
Blue Technology said: "It is the original intention to do a good job of embodied smart products that users really love."
The price as low as 10,000 yuan shows that this company is really making products from the perspective of consumers.
Really good products come from the core team's positioning of the market and consumers - technology should not be an unattainable luxury.
Such an affordable price makes "one household, one dog" truly possible.
Yes, from the very beginning, Azure Technology has determined that it will do the track of family scenes.
Both at home and abroad, this track is still a blue ocean.
AIBO will slowly form a unique personality according to the living environment and interaction with the owner
Moxie is specially designed for children aged 5-10 years old, helping them grow through companionship and communication
However, although the robots and robot dogs that already existed on the market before have certain companionship and interaction capabilities, the product form is still relatively simple.
In the consumer market, this level of sophistication is not enough.
The consumer-level products created by Azure Technology are a new track direction.
This C-end product should be oriented to the family scene, be customizable, be vivid and life-oriented, and easily take the baby to liberate the parents.
It can be said that what they have created is a new species with a new form.
This is something that no one has ever done before, and the team can only carefully feel the stones to cross the river.
shape
In terms of appearance, the choice of quadruped robots is to fully consider the psychological acceptance of consumers.
As a lifelong companion of human beings, the image of dogs is easy to be accepted by thousands of households, which is conducive to the rapid realization of brand influence, so as to achieve self-hematopoiesis and self-profit.
It is said that this "dog face" stands out from hundreds of design drafts, which is both cute and has a sci-fi sense from the future
god
After determining the "shape" of the robot dog, the next difficulty is to make it "god" enough.
Since the main emotional companionship function, the dog needs to be enough "dog".
What is the difference between a robot dog and a real dog in the past? One big difference is the lack of vivid eyes.
The company's BabyAlpha can have nearly 100 expressions on a dog's face.
The smart little expressions and movements make children love it
In the blink of an eye, it is instantly full of cool sense of technology
Moreover, its motor skills are full and can have a variety of autonomous behaviors.
The unique bond between the cute pet and the owner comes from the memories that belong to each other and the tacit understanding that is gradually cultivated.
Similarly, BabyAlpha is also a "nurturing" dog, which allows users to customize their timbre, personality, hobbies and other attributes at the place of purchase.
In addition, BabyAlpha also has a wonderful day of its own. It is automatically located on the "puppy kennel" charging pile and charges autonomously.
In terms of the function of accompanying the baby, it is also full of highlights.
For example, telling picture book stories to children with affection.
Sure enough, such a vivid robot dog makes users love it after they get it, and they are crazy about showing dogs on the Internet.
skill
This baby artifact is full of black technology behind it.
It can be said that the team has overcome layers of difficulties.
- Core hardware
The first stage is the level of hardware and algorithms.
All the core components, such as the joint motor, are all developed by the team.
- Agent operating system
The ability to make BabyAlpha come alive and have its own life in a 1-square-meter space is behind the embodied intelligent engine developed by the Azure team for 2 years.
This includes two innovative technologies: one is Always Alive, and the other is AgentOS.
Based on the agent engine, the robot dog is not only around when you need it, but also able to entertain, rest and so on when you are busy and resting.
Because of this, BabyAlpha has a unique personality and hobbies, growth experience, and emotional memory complete agent ability.
- Multimodal large models
The children communicate with BabyAlpha silky, also thanks to the human-computer interaction of the multimodal large model.
Based on the industry-leading AI language model, NIO has fine-tuned the model specifically for home scenarios.
In this way, the robot dog can accurately recognize natural language and intention recognition, with an accuracy rate of more than 97.8%.
At the same time, it responds extremely fast, with less than 0.5 seconds.
Most importantly, BabyAlpha is a model designed for families, and when communicating with children, BabyAlpha is more appropriate and active in communication.
Parents can rest assured that their children can have a chat with the robot dog.
For example, through natural language, children can learn graphical programming in BabyAlpha, which can support both graphical and secondary programming development.
In this way, you can choreograph some movements for the dog yourself and let him perform accordingly.
What could be more exciting than this to motivate children to code?
- Motion control
As soon as the most cutting-edge multi-layer hybrid motion control algorithm was launched, it broke the MIT quadruped robot world record.
The algorithm has always been at the forefront of the industry and has the industry's leading motion control core technology.
It allows the BabyAlpha to be robust and flexible in extreme sports.
It delivers silky, stable movement in any situation.
-industrial design
In terms of exterior design, BabyAlpha did not adopt a cool mechanical style, but chose a more cute and cute animation character style.
Overall, it is more biomimetic and easier for the audience to accept it into the home.
In terms of safety, it is also one of the primary considerations when entering the home.
The fully hidden design of the BabyAlpha wiring harness directly avoids the potential safety hazards caused by exposed wires, and at the same time makes the product both aesthetically pleasing.
The company also has a first-class supply chain supply chain system.
the core motion control center and reducer, which are from suppliers of BMW and Tesla, respectively; The battery is BYD.
Summary: A new species is born
It can be said that whether it is the vivid features, the industry-leading AI language model, or the integration of the Azure AgentOS embodied intelligent operating system and QQ music, or the "Agent Station" exclusive life station, we have never seen a product in the form of a quadruped robot.
Even if you look at the global market, there is no second company doing it.
Therefore, we cannot define TA in terms of previously existing species.
It can be thought of as a home version of a mobile phone, or as a new computer.
Even, unlike previous tech products, BabyAlpha is not like a device, but a real AI pet.
And, many people in the industry only know what the current generation of products looks like. But by standing with consumers and listening to their voices, the company can ensure that it is always ahead of the industry cycle of six months to one year.
At this point, the commercialization of embodied intelligence to C of Azure Technology has been completely completed.
Four-legged + humanoid, all of them!
Of course, the company is only taking the first steps at this point.
In the field of embodied intelligence, the company has laid out quadruped robots, humanoid robots, and developer versions, and created a series of products with a full matrix.
Super developer version quadruped robot
For the majority of engineers, geek enthusiasts and technology enthusiasts, Blue Technology has also specially designed a cost-effective quadruped robot hardware for them, which is not only high-performance, but also a programmable version.
The Office version of the humanoid robot is on the way
Not only that, the humanoid robot track in full swing in China, Azure Technology has also entered the game.
The uniqueness of universal humanoid robots is that they can fully adapt to our daily life and working environment, so they can assist humans and become their "second self".
To this end, the company has deliberately launched an Office version of the humanoid robot.
Just hearing the name makes people excited - the robot that works for us in the company, so soon?
It can take on simple tasks in administrative, HR and financial work, including reception, daily reception, and invoice reimbursement.
In terms of business model, it will adopt a "robot as a service" approach, and users can enjoy the corresponding rental services and operation and maintenance services by paying monthly.
The good news is that I heard that the Office version of the robot will be mass-produced in Q4 2025!
All-star team
After 5 years of dedication and 6 generations, what is the background of the team to make a company with such strong product power and such successful commercialization in the field of embodied intelligence?
After careful investigation, we found that the team was indeed star-studded and full of talent.
Liu Weichao, founder of Weilan (pointed by the arrow)
Liu Weichao, the founder and chief architect of Weilan Technology, has been deeply involved in the AI robot industry for many years and has mastered the entire technology stack of humanoid robots.
He started learning to code at the age of eight and has been working in the field of AI for more than 20 years.
While studying for a master's degree in AI robotics at the University of Bonn, Germany, he studied with Sebastian Thrun, the "father of autonomous driving".
He has won the international championship of the World Robot Championship (RoboCup) for three consecutive years, and has participated in world-class research projects of NimbRo Group and Computer Vision Group in Germany, winning international awards.
Design innovation colleagues come from well-known universities at home and abroad, with global vision + senior experience in the industry: Central Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts, RCA, RISD, Parsons School of Design, etc.
The senior management team are all professional players above the director level of well-known enterprises at home and abroad, as well as manufacturing veterans of well-known enterprises at home and abroad, with an average of more than 10 years of experience in the industry.
In addition to having a strong scientific research team, Blue Technology also has close cooperation with the Institute of Artificial Intelligence of Harbin Institute of Technology, the Joint Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Robotics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Artificial Intelligence Research Center of the Western Development Research Institute, and Southeast University.
Today, there is a consensus in the industry that the embodied intelligence industry has great prospects.
According to the analysis of Global Indestry Analysts, the global service robot market will grow to $110.4 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 21.2%; For the Chinese market, it will reach a market size of $9.5 billion by 2026.
If embodied intelligence is commercialized on a large scale, it will become the world's largest technology industry and economic growth.
The wish of Blue Technology is to start the first year of the popularization of personal robots with this product, and become the world's first robot product to enter 100,000+ families.
Let's wait and see.