China News Service, Beijing, September 4th. Title: Pianist Lang Lang has a humanoid robot
Reporter Zhang Su
The piano has 88 keys, and the robot standing next to the piano is 88 centimeters tall.
"When the 88-key melody meets the 88-centimeter Q1, there is a real resonance between technology and art." said pianist Lang Lang.
Data map: The picture shows pianist Lang Lang interacting with the humanoid robot Qiyuan Q1. Photo provided by interviewee
The "Q1" in Lang Lang's mouth is a lightweight, full-body force-controlled humanoid robot with a body height of about 88 cm and a weight of 15 kg. It supports convenient folding and storage.
The person in charge of the R&D team said that with its high-precision motion control technology and natural and smooth human-computer interaction capabilities, Qiyuan Q1 can realize multiple functions such as physical interaction, intelligent companionship, and content creation.
In Lang Lang's view, Q1 is very flexible, with a well-developed mind and limbs, "like a very smart child."
Recently on the stage, the interaction between the two was quite interesting.
"Are you my biggest music fan?" Lang Lang asked.
Q1 quickly replied: "Yes."
"Since you understand me so well, why don't we play a song together?"
Q1 began to shake the robotic arm: "You are responsible for playing the main melody, and I am responsible for imitating the shaking of your head when you play it until it rises."
Lang Lang laughed loudly after hearing this. He specifically mentioned the fun of the robot and believed that it would help more children learn to play the piano.
The reporter noticed that after Lang Lang posted this interactive video on social platforms, many netizens liked the "dream linkage". Some people left messages looking forward to "playing with four hands", others were curious about "whether robots can replace pianists in the future", and some said they "wanted to own the same type of robot".
The head of the R&D team said that this cross-border art practice has fully verified the potential of humanoid robots in the field of cultural creativity, and has further brought consumer-level personal robots into the public eye.
According to reports, Q1 also has a "brother" - Qiyuan T1, which stands about 100 centimeters tall and weighs 16 kilograms. Its core highlight is the ability to switch between wheel-footed humanoid and quadrupedal forms. It can flexibly adapt to the needs of indoor family companionship, outdoor accompanying guardianship, intelligent image creation and other scene needs, and its functionality and practicality have been further upgraded.
Some observations believe that currently, the robot industry is accelerating its expansion from traditional industrial scenarios to personal consumption and home service scenarios. In the future, scenarios such as intelligent assistance with housework, parent-child entertainment interaction, children's intelligent education, and personalized content creation will become the core implementation direction of consumer-grade humanoid robots.
The rapid implementation of products is inseparable from the support of solid technology research and development and industrialization investment. The relevant person in charge of Shangwei New Materials revealed that the team is focusing on core underlying technologies such as large artificial intelligence models, embodied intelligent algorithms, motion intelligence, human-computer interaction intelligence, and lightweight joints to continue to consolidate core competitiveness. At the same time, production capacity construction and supply chain layout are steadily advancing, providing a solid guarantee for large-scale delivery and market popularization of products.
The "2026 Humanoid Robot Industry Development Report" shows that China has formed a full-chain manufacturing capability from core chips, key components to complete machines. In the first half of this year, China’s humanoid robot shipments exceeded 40,000 units, accounting for 97% of the world’s total.
From samples that are “visible but not tangible” to products that can be “delivered to your home upon placing an order,” humanoid robots are entering people’s homes. (over)
