Machine Intelligence Report

Machine Mind Editor Department

Has physical AI already created illusions?

Is this a robot or a real person?

From yesterday to today, half of the global internet has been discussing Xiaopeng's humanoid robot IRON.

Everyone's "Holmes" instinct awakened instantly.

According to the discussion among netizens on Little Red Book, the robot performing gait demonstration at the conference is actually a real person wearing a skin suit.

However, in the face of overwhelming discussions, Xiaopeng seems unperturbed. In response to a comment from a netizen stating 100% real person here, He Xiaopeng replied, Thank you for the recognition.

On November 6th, Xiaopeng Motors held its AI Day 2025 event at its new headquarters in Guangzhou, officially announcing that it is no longer just a car manufacturing company, but an AI company.

Based on the self-developed Xpeng VLA 2.0 big model, Xiaopeng has derived a set of AI-defined applications. The latest generation humanoid robot, IRON, has caused a lot of discussion since its appearance.

Xiaopeng has been deeply involved in the field of robotics for 7 years. From the earliest quadruped form to the current fully humanoid stage, it has constantly evolved.

IRON now features a brand-new human-like skeletal structure, bionic muscle system, and full-coverage flexible skin, greatly reducing the mechanical feel and giving it a more human-like appearance.

The previous generation of IRON was able to walk relatively smoothly and was said to be neither pre-programmed nor remotely controlled. This time, the walk was more steady, more natural, and even with a little aura-although the official did not elabo

IRON is about 1.78 meters tall, taller than robots from companies like 1X and NEO, and weighs 70kg.

With micro harmonic joints on both hands and 22 degrees of freedom (DOF), which is only five less than humans, it is already capable of performing some complex daily movements such as folding clothes, wiping tables, tidying up items and other delicat

With a total of 65 degrees of freedom and human-like spinal movement capabilities, it has 10 more degrees than NEO.n

Taking such a devilish step cannot do without the cerebellum behind it, although the official side has not given more information about it. However, judging from the discussion about the motion control and hardware of the previous generation of robot

Judging from the official and online content, the hardware looks impressive.

Xiaopeng humanoid robot is guiding netizens to visit its headquarters. From x@FredericLambert

Interestingly, unlike the conservative swordplay coach-style look of NEO, IRON offers customizable male or female features achieved through a flexible 3D mesh structure and soft skin material, which mimic the human body's curves and texture.

Similar to NEO, the 3D printed honeycomb grid fabric provides both structural strength and sufficient flexibility, with a gentle touch.

The soul of IRON comes from the self-developed AI brain of Xiaopeng, driven by three Turing AI chips, with a total computing power of up to 2,250 TOPS.

It integrates the three major cognitive models of VLT + VLA + VLM, and can achieve visual perception, language understanding, and action decision-making within the same system, realizing the capability of seeing and acting, and being able to communic

The head adopts a 3D curved screen, which not only acts as a "face", but also as an interactive interface, enabling more natural human-machine communication.

The new IRON uses a solid-state battery, but the capacity and battery life have not yet been announced.

Some netizens feel that it looks very similar to Lilith in Eva, and are wondering when the First Unit will be released.

Compared to Tesla and other players like 1X who are shouting about mass production by 2026, Xiaopeng seems more restrained.

The official plan is to achieve mass production of IRON by 2026, but it will only be used in their own business scenarios - such as serving as showroom guides, receptionists, or sales consultants.

Previously, Xiaopeng had tried to put IRON on the production line to perform a simple task of screwing. However, it was found that the robot performed even worse than the workers, with low efficiency, high maintenance costs, and a tendency to break d

He Xiaopeng is not shy about acknowledging this point. He believes that humanoid robots will eventually enter factories and households, but the pace will not be too fast. Industrial applications in about 3-5 years; household popularization: about 5-1

Therefore, you will see the figure of IRON in the XPeng showrooms around the world next year, and it will first appear as a staff member in the stores.

At the same time, Xiaopeng will launch the IRON SDK to open development interfaces and invite third parties to create more application scenarios. The first batch of partners includes large enterprises such as Baosteel Group.

Besides, many netizens are calling for him to take another walk while wearing no clothes. What's your opinion?