When Chinese electric vehicle company XPENG revealed its new humanoid robot Iron this month (November 2025), it didn’t initially feel like a hugely revolutionary moment for the robotics industries.
At a launch event in Guangzhou, Iron walked around on a stage, showcasing a sleek white life-size humanoid frame that was, in many ways, similar to that of many robotics company offerings. The robot seemed to walk around relatively well, but you probably wouldn’t trust it with your best crockery quite yet.
There was one aspect of Iron’s physically that was a break from the norm, though. The robot on display had a slim waist and breasts. The vast majority of humanoid robots being developed or on sale already have male-type bodies with flat chests, so this was something of an industry surprise.
Iron isn’t a sex robot, and XPENG has revealed that early orders for the unit will see it utilised for industrial inspections. So, was this ‘female’ robot simply the result of a company realising that, considering that around half of the world’s population is female, maybe humanoid robots could sometimes be female, too?
Kind of. At the event XPENG CEO He Xiaopeng suggested that while the robots may be sold primarily for industrial use rather than being companion bots, they were very much designed with human interaction in mind.
“A lot of scenarios are designed for human beings in this world,” said He, according to Mashable, reporting from the Guangzhou event. “If the robot is more human-like then it’s [easier for] them to adapt to the real world.”
“More human-like robots and also non-human-like robots can both be good looking, but the human-like robot can be more intimate. If you think it’s warmer, more human, then you can sell more and you can reach the scale effect, then the cost control can be better in return. It will have… a positive cycle,” He added.
XPENG has made two robot designs for the Iron: a ‘male’ and ‘female’-style version. And while the introduction of a gender equality, of sorts, to the production seems to be based on what will result in more sales rather than striving for better humanoid representation, it’s nice to see breasts on a robot that aren’t simply designed for male titillation.
You could argue that calling a female-style robot Iron isn’t the most progressive name it could have, but we’re not here to be arbiters of naming conventions.
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