China's AWE 2026 Showcases Record Number of Robots as AI Home Devices Gain Ground

(Yicai) March 13 -- The Appliance & Electronics World Expo 2026 (AWE 2026) in Shanghai is showcasing the largest number of robots in its history, highlighting rapid advances in household service robots and artificial intelligence-powered home appliances.The exhibition features a wide range of domestic service robots capable of cooking, organizing items, and even cleaning stairs. Meanwhile, the number and variety of new household appliances equipped with AI capabilities have grown even faster, signaling the accelerating integration of AI into consumer electronics.For example, Ecovacs Robotics presented a non-humanoid household service assistant that can pick up objects from the floor, tidy desktops, and place clothes into washing machines. “It is expected to enter families within three years,” Chairman Qian Dongqi told Yicai.The robot integrates AI large models and AI agent technologies, but still requires improvements in performance and reductions in production costs before it can be widely adopted by households at affordable prices, Qian added.Beyond technical capability improvements, pricing remains a major obstacle to the widespread adoption of embodied AI in homes. Yicai observed at the expo that a humanoid robot displayed by an e-commerce platform was priced at CNY69,999 (USD10,166), prompting many visitors to remark they were “just looking.”AI Appliances Moving Closer to Mass AdoptionAlthough it may take time before service robots become common in households, AI-powered home appliances are expected to reach ordinary families much sooner.Televisions equipped with AI chips can improve display quality and, with the help of AI large models, enable natural language interaction with users, and may gradually evolve into companion robots or even become the intelligent hub of connected home devices, Hisense Visual Technology President Li Wei told Yicai.Active intelligence, high energy efficiency, and comfortable airflow distribution are the three main upgrade directions for residential air conditioners this year, all of which rely heavily on AI, a representative from the home air-conditioning technology development department of Gree Electric Appliances told Yicai.A staff member from kitchen appliance supplier Vatti Corporation said the company is applying AI mainly to improve cooking experiences, including predicting cooking fume movement and automatically cleaning grease.The China Household Electrical Appliances Association also hosted a forum on the development of the household service robot industry during AWE 2026. The event discussed fostering the domestic service robot sector and promoting integration between robots and home appliances.A special committee for household service robots was also established, with members including about 50 home appliance and robotics firms such as Haier Group, Hisense Group, Fourier Intelligence, and Orbbec.Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine