Have you ever met a humanoid robot in person? Sounds sci-fi, right? Of course, it does! And that’s because humanoid robots have always been associated with futuristic movies and science fiction. But not anymore for the people of NYC. The city recently hosted its first-ever pop-up store that featured Chinese humanoid robots. 

Wondering what the name of this store is? The name of the showroom is KOID SHOP, and it opened in Lower Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. Located at 188 Lafayette Street, the pop-up allows visitors to actually interact with humanoid robots that are developed by some of the leading Chinese robotics companies.

The 3-day pop-up event was organized by investment firm KraneShares and robotics software company OpenMind. The event ran from June 26 to June 28. And the main goal of the pop-up was to introduce the public to the latest advances in embodied AI and physical robotics. 

KOID SHOP is not like your traditional electronics showroom. In fact, here, visitors were actually able to interact directly with the robots. Guests saw these robots perform different tasks such as dancing and walking across the showroom floor. These robots even responded to voice commands and performed other tasks like home assistance, safety monitoring, and much more. Some visitors were even seen waiting in line to click pictures with these amazing machines.

There was a large number of Chinese robotics manufacturers present at the pop-up. The companies that displayed their robots included:

• Unitree Robotics
• AgiBOT
• Booster Robotics
• LimX Dynamics
• Galaxea

The companies mentioned here are not ordinary robot manufacturers. In fact, these are the companies that are actually very well-known for making robots that are super affordable and extremely capable of performing a variety of tasks. Most of these robots are powered by OpenMind’s software. This software enables them to understand human commands and perform tasks that are too complex or difficult for humans to perform. 

The CEO of KraneShares, Jonathan Krane, said that the company doesn’t want people to stay limited to investment discussions only. Rather, he believes that people must experience these technologies themselves. As per Krane, humanoid robotics and physical AI can become one of the most important technologies in the coming decade. The purpose of opening KOID SHOP in the heart of NYC was to make people understand how fast technology is growing and how it’s impacting our day-to-day lives.

The founder and CEO of OpenMind, Jan Liphardt, also emphasized the fact that in today’s world, robots are not just a sci-fi movie thing. He said that this store is designed in a way that people can see what a humanoid robot is capable of doing in today’s world. Not only this, but he also wants people to imagine how, in the near future, humans and robots may work side by side. 

The competition in the global humanoid robotics, as we all know, is increasing quite fast. And this event has surely come at the right time, as other companies in the United States, China, Japan, and Europe are investing billions of dollars into developing robots. And guess what? These robots are not your ordinary machines. In fact, these are the humanoid robots that can assist humans with repetitive tasks. 

It is worth noting that experts believe that these types of demonstrations, including the KOID SHOP, can surely play an important role in increasing people’s acceptance of humanoid robots. Moreover, companies are also changing the way they market their products. They are not just focusing on industrial buyers or research institutions. In fact, now they are focusing on targeting everyday consumers. And to do so, the companies are showcasing their products at such public places where each and every visitor can access these robots easily.