Humanoids report news as Xinhua Unveils New robot Anchors

During the seventh World Media Summit, China’s Xinhua News Agency unveiled two robotic anchors, Xinyu and Xinyan, with one of them delivering the opening news that has now given audiences a first glimpse at how the technology could work in front of viewers.

Developed with UBTECH, the robot anchor pair features human-like bodies powered by AI technology connected to Xinhua’s current-affairs information system. Named Xinyu and Xinyan, the robots are gender-specific and are built specifically for news presentations while also offering viewers a cinematic influence.Their underlying hardware model has not been identified in the launch announcement.

Chinese director Zhang Yimou led the visual design of the two life-size anchors, shaping their look specifically for a professional news setting.

Behind that appearance itself is a combination of UBTECH’s artificial skin, robotics hardware, operating systems, and AI technology. Both Xinyu and Xinyan are connected to Xinhua Yudian, the news platforms' current-affairs information system, to access material for their presentations.

Based on the UBTECH founder, chairman, and CEO, Zhou Jian, the programme uses analysed information to minimise the possibility of getting incorrect content from AI. However, the announcement did not specify independent accuracy results.

Xinhua intends the robots to support its newsroom. New Media Center Director Qian Tong said the robots would assist journalists and editors with news delivery, multilingual output, and live interaction. How widely those functions will be used in everyday newsroom work remains unclear at this point.

The ambitions of these robots extend beyond broadcasting. Zhou outlined potential uses across various sectors such as education, city reception venues, overseas cultural exchanges, and even deep-space reporting, although no deployment timetable was announced.

There are several practical questions that still require answers. The launch reports do not mention pricing, commercial availability, sustained operating performance, or how autonomous the onstage presentation was.

For now, the Beijing debut offers an early glimpse of how humanoid robots present the news. The next test is whether they can turn a stage demonstration into a reliable part of daily newsroom life.