US distributor of China’s most popular humanoid robots pivots after US ban - Ars Technica
The team accelerated plans to open a robotics manufacturing facility as the US government moved toward restricting or banning foreign-made robots.
Key takeaways
- The second World Humanoid Robot Games opened in Beijing on 22 August 2026, drawing more than 2,000 robots from 16 nations across 51 events and 1,301 individual competitions. Chinese teams dominated the opening ceremony, with a X‑Humanoid robot sprinting 100 metres in 9.39 seconds—faster than Usain Bolt’s 9.58‑second world record—and another Chinese robot clearing a standing high jump of 2.88 metres, surpassing the human record of 2.45 metres. Unitree’s “Superman” model also set a new speed benchmark of 12.66 metres per second, again outpacing Bolt’s average pace.
- At the same time, the industry is confronting regulatory headwinds: the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s recent ban on imports of new foreign‑made humanoid robots—targeting Chinese manufacturers such as Unitree—has been noted, though analysts say the restriction has limited immediate impact because few humanoids are deployed in the United States.
- Beyond the competitions, commercial momentum is building. Agility Robotics reported that its Digit robot moved more than 100,000 totes in a GXO fulfillment centre and secured contracts with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada and Mercado Libre, marking a shift from demos to measurable service deployments. Nvidia, in partnership with Hyundai Motor Group and LG, is rolling out a standardized Robot Reference Platform and an “Physical AI” framework that combine advanced hardware, Isaac simulation tools and synthetic‑data factories to accelerate research and startup development.
- Overall, the August 2026 events showcase rapid advances in humanoid speed, agility and collaborative capabilities, while also highlighting the regulatory and economic challenges that will shape how quickly these machines move from showcase arenas into everyday industrial and consumer roles.
The team accelerated plans to open a robotics manufacturing facility as the US government moved toward restricting or banning foreign-made robots. US lawmakers introduced legislation like the American Security Robotics Act in the Senate in March, followed by the GUARD Act in the House of Representatives in June.
The biggest development so far came in July, when the US Federal Communications Commission banned the imports of new models of foreign-made robots, including popular robot vacuum cleaners and Unitree’s humanoid robots and robot dogs. The move was justified along national security lines because of potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities, but also clearly geared toward encouraging companies to produce more robots in the United States. But on August 10, RoboStore announced a major shift in its business strategy, with plans to fully open a 66,000-square-foot facility for manufacturing commercial robots by the first fiscal quarter of 2027. It also launched a new company called Robo Inc. to oversee the new robotics manufacturing and systems integration business.
Making the pivot
Haggerty and his team had already started thinking about the possibility of starting up their own robotics manufacturing business about a year ago. While supporting customers’ deployment and integration requests, they had gained insights into how customers were thinking about using robots for specific applications. # US distributor of China’s most popular humanoid robots pivots after US ban
FCC ban on foreign-made robots accelerated RoboStore’s US manufacturing plans.
A person works on a quadruped robotic dog that is lying on a counter, while a second person stands in front of a computer with multiple display screens inside the office of Robo Inc. A person works on a quadruped robotic dog that is lying on a counter, while a second person stands in front of a computer with multiple display screens inside the office of Robo Inc.
A leading US distributor of China’s most popular humanoid robots and robot dogs now plans to produce its own robots at a facility on Long Island, New York. The business pivot comes amid the US government’s growing crackdown on foreign-made robots.
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