From 4 to 8 September, the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin 2026 (IFA 2026) was held in Berlin. As one of the three largest consumer-electronics shows in the world, IFA is the core platform where global technology brands launch products and show off results, and a barometer for industry trends. This year’s theme was ‘The Future is Now’, with a focus on the meeting point of frontier technology and daily life. More than 1,900 exhibitors took part, and Chinese firms made up close to half of them.
Robots surfaced across the show in numbers never seen before at IFA, setting a record for the event. IFA organisers said the 2026 IFA NEXT innovation zone would be its largest humanoid-robot showcase ever, with roughly 300 exhibitors in the zone. A dedicated ‘Robots on the Runway’ event staged humanoids, quadrupeds, wheeled robots and bionic companion robots. Of the 11 robotics firms demonstrating on the show floor, six came from China, and two of those from Shenzhen: Zhongqing Robotics and Dobot.
Zhongqing Robotics brought its full-size general-purpose humanoid T800 and the PM01. The T800 stands 173 centimetres tall and carries strong dynamic performance, built on self-developed micro joint motors and an omnidirectional perception system with joint torque. On the floor it ran high-dynamic moves, including a rising-dragon punch, a spinning kick and an autonomous recovery after falling, showing the kinematic control and high power-density joint modules behind it. The PM01 is the first humanoid in the world to complete a front flip. Its open system architecture lets users pull the basic operation code, training code and deployment code, opening paths for education and commercial use.
Leif Lindner, chief executive of the IFA management company, said the show revealed where technology is heading. ‘This year we are seeing more humanoid robots at IFA than ever before. This is not just a showcase. It shows that robotics, artificial intelligence and human-machine interaction are becoming indispensable in everyday life.’
Beyond full-size humanoids, Shenzhen firms showed a full-scenario matrix spanning industrial work, home service, emotional companionship and medical rehabilitation, from mass-market consumer products to frontier technical proposals.
PUDU Robotics unveiled the wheeled semi-humanoid PUDU D7 for Europe. At 175 centimetres with dual arms on an omnidirectional wheeled base, a single arm moves objects up to 20 kilogrammes and the battery lasts over four hours, targeting grasping, transport and assembly in factories and logistics. Its wheeled quadruped PUDU D5-W demonstrated climbing slopes and crossing sand.
Keqing Technology brought its high-end exoskeleton brand VIGX and launched the flagship pi6, billed as the world’s first pocket-sized AI exoskeleton robot, sharply reducing the size and weight of exoskeleton hardware to deliver lighter, smarter walking support.
In companion robots, Dobot showed the panda-shaped quadruped PandaBo interacting with visitors. Shenzhen Wuxin Technology presented the emotional AI panda An’an and the child companion Duncan. An’an had already won a CES 2026 artificial-intelligence innovation award and was selected for IFA’s ‘Robots on the Runway’, one of 11 smart robots chosen.
Courtyard-service robots became another important Shenzhen product line at the show. Wiland debuted the Navimow H5 Pro robotic mower globally at IFA, covering home courtyards, sports fields and large commercial lawns. It carries digital lidar from Shenzhen firm RoboSense, the first mass-production landing for that lidar since its global debut in July. The mower took IFA’s Best in Smart Home innovation award and a design honour. Several Shenzhen firms including Kumav showed mowers together, building a product matrix aimed at the European yard market.
From special-operations robots to home service, from quadrupeds to humanoids, the exhibits formed a product spectrum covering many needs, and together showed Shenzhen’s ability to cover multiple links from core components to end applications. Whether these products truly land in overseas scenes, and how they combine with local use cases, still needs watching. But in this collective appearance aimed at the European market, Shenzhen firms have already shown solid technical strength.
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Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Sznews (Shenzhen News) report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://www.sznews.com/news/content/2026-09/08/content_32167019.htm.
Translated and adapted from Sznews (Shenzhen News) (https://www.sznews.com/news/content/2026-09/08/content_32167019.htm).