Humanoid robots are lousy co-workers. China wants to be first to change that.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For the past few weeks, Chinese engineers have gathered in the factory of a luxury electric-vehicle brand to test a new technology the country’s leadership considers vital to its rivalry with the U.S. The engineers at a startup called UBTech are training humanlike robots to sort auto parts and move containers.

The task looks mundane, but the technology behind it isn’t. Powered by artificial intelligence, these humanoids work with other robots and figure out on their own how to get the job done, according to the company—and, in the process, learn how to do it better. The U.S.

and China are the only two countries at the cutting edge of intelligent humanoid robots, according to specialists. Whoever can make a truly useful humanoid will come to dominate an untold number of labor-intensive industries. “The time has come for robots," said Jensen Huang, chief executive of the AI chip company Nvidia, at a conference in March.

“Everyone, pay attention. This could very well be the largest industry of all." The humanoid robot, much like the hoverboard, is a long-tenured item on the list of science-fiction promises left unfulfilled. For years, the technology’s standard-bearer was Honda’s Asimo, a marshmallowlike droid best known for failing to navigate stairs without falling down.

Development of it halted in 2018. On the more practical side, robotic arms have hovered over assembly lines for decades. They are programmed to do concrete tasks with precision but can’t think on their feet.