Robots Took the Runway Instead of Models as Chinese Firms Dominated IFA 2026

Humanoid robots, rather than fashion models, took to the runway at IFA 2026 in Berlin. As the host introduced them one by one, they waved to visitors and danced. It was the first time the consumer electronics show had staged a runway centered on humanoid robots.

Chinese companies made the strongest impression. Engine AI, Dobot, Deep Robotics, Agibot and Unitree were among the Chinese firms taking part. After expanding from televisions, home appliances and robot vacuums, they are using humanoids and other forms of physical AI to pursue European markets.

Unitree displayed its G1 humanoid and a quadruped robot. At the company’s stand, robots danced and made sandwiches. Humanoids from Chinese manufacturer Booster Robotics performed a synchronized dance to a Michael Jackson song, while a humanoid from Termitec played the piano.

Other demonstrations focused on everyday work. Haier showed a robot waiting to move freshly washed clothes into a dryer. Yunics AI presented Panther, a humanoid designed to perform household chores, including making coffee. Robot-vacuum companies Roborock and Ecovacs displayed lawn-mowing robots, signaling an expansion from indoor cleaning into outdoor property management aimed at European and North American markets.

Elsewhere, a robot modeled on a human hand and arm folded boxes. TCL presented AiMe, a family robot that follows people’s gestures with its gaze and waves. The runway and demonstrations pointed to an AI competition moving beyond screens, toward machines that recognize users’ situations and act directly in the physical world. IFA emphasized that this year’s show featured more humanoid robots than ever before.