Chinese robot manufacturer UBTech has created a new range of realistic humanoid ‘companion’ robots, with the company’s CEO saying the firm didn’t want to “simply make a sex robot”.
The new robot model is called U1 and is available in male or female form. Both come with realistic skin and hair and are designed to have AI for emotional connection.
The robots can reportedly move over flat surfaces in tight movement patterns, but can’t properly walk, despite having a total of 88 mobile joints.
They’re also equipped with affective AI, a branch of AI built to detect, interpret, and simulate human emotions through visual and audio cues, though how well that works in a living room rather than a lab demo remains the perennial unanswered question for this category. U1 is designed to be a close at-home companion.
Pre-sales for the robots started on the Chinese retail site JD.com this month (June 2026), with U1 models available to reserve for a deposit of 3,000 yuan ($440). UBTech said that the full online release will come on June 30, and has not yet revealed the units’ full price.
There’s no suggestion that the U1 models have genitals or are designed for humans to have sex with, but they are unashamedly billed as emotional support companions and potentially romantic partner stand-ins.
Zhou Jian, UBTech’s founder and CEO, told LatePost: “I think that in 10 or 20 years, the next generation may fall in love with humanoid robots”.
Zhou added that although the company didn’t want to “simply make a sex robot”, it had designed a partner that “won’t tell you that you’re annoying” and will “stay with users whatever they are doing”. Zhou said that the robot could play games and watch TV with you.
With light-colored hair and skin, the male U1 looks a bit ‘K-pop handsome’ and in promotional materials is presented wearing a tuxedo, bow tie, and spectacles. He stands 183 centimeters tall and weighs 42 kilograms.
The female U1 is similarly conventionally attractive, and if she were human we’d wonder if she had eyelid surgery to make her eyes appear larger. She’s 168 centimeters tall and weighs 35.2 kilograms (roughly 6 ft and 93 lbs).
Both models connect to Wi-Fi and offer up to four hours of battery life between charges, which is enough for a movie and not much else if you’re taking the companion framing literally. We’ll also be interested to see exactly what data is being collected by the robots, too.
The U1 models don’t look too dissimilar to humanoid robots made by Realbotix and RealDoll, the most prominent Western sex robot company.
As well as competition from the likes of Realbotix, the U1 is up against head unit robots such as Jiggly Joy’s Aura, which sells from $2,699.
Support & help
If you’ve experienced image-based sexual abuse or non-consensual sharing of intimate images, help is available worldwide.
- USA — RAINN operates the 24/7 National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE), or visit the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative for comprehensive assistance.
- UK — Victim Support offers free help via a 24/7 helpline (0808 168 9111).
- Europe — many countries provide victim assistance through the 116 006 helpline.
- International — other resources include SaferNet (Brazil), Digital Rights Foundation (Pakistan), AWARE (Singapore), Rain Lily (Hong Kong), and KCSVRC (South Korea).
For a complete international directory, visit the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative’s international resources.
