Controlling a Humanoid Robot with Your Body: A Trending Career in China’s Tech Hub

At IO-AI Tech, a startup located about 45 minutes north of downtown Shenzhen, China, I witnessed an innovative new age of blue-collar employment. Employees don VR headsets, handheld controllers, and motion-tracking gear to manage humanoid robots remotely in settings like factories and convenience stores. The goal is for the robots to handle practical tasks, such as stocking shelves and retrieving items from bins, while also collecting training data that may allow them to function autonomously in the future.

To demonstrate their technology, the company welcomed me to their offices, where I was given the chance to control ten humanoid robotic hands from different manufacturers using a specially designed motion-tracking glove. This device immediately relayed my finger movements to all 50 robotic fingers.

I admit that the first thing I attempted with this advanced equipment was to get all ten hands to gesture rudely. Once I had that out of my system, I was astonished by the speed at which my movements were mirrored by the robot hands and the seamless interaction—I could even feel a ball placed in one of the electronic hands.

Additionally, I was able to test a system currently under evaluation by a Chinese convenience store chain. Equipped with a VR headset and a pair of grippers, I attempted to pick boxes of medications off a shelf. Initially, it was disorienting; I had to acclimate to a slight lag between my real-world movements and those of the robot visible through the headset. After some practice, however, I was restacking the shelves like a pro.

In another area, I observed individuals wearing virtual reality headsets and body-tracking sensors, reminiscent of Ready Player One. In one large space, workers were using various systems to manipulate smaller Unitree humanoids. One person walked alongside a Unitree robot, which mirrored their movements within a simulated apartment. The human operator, wearing a headset and viewing through the robot’s cameras at eye level, performed actions to remove a shirt from a hanger and fold it.

IO-AI creates technology that translates a person’s movements to various robot models—a valuable capability, given the wide array of humanoids and robotic hands available in China today. The startup’s algorithms also amalgamate human control with a degree of autonomy since a person and a robot typically differ in shape, size, and weight. Without some degree of independent movement, the robot risks losing its balance.