At the Robot Mall in Beijing Yizhuang, a 4S store concept for robots, over 100 robot models are showcased across life services, medical care and wellness, and cultural and sports entertainment scenarios. Following a recent exhibition upgrade, the medical care and wellness section now features the first integration of embodied intelligence with traditional Chinese medicine, while the entertainment display area has added attractions like Sichuan opera face-changing, Tai Chi, and martial arts performances. This four-story robot 4S store, covering roughly 4,000 square meters, has attracted more than 100,000 visitors since opening, generating sales exceeding 60 million yuan. It has established connections with over 150 channel partners, with business expanding from single-product robot sales to comprehensive end-to-end solution services.

With Robot Mall as the central hub, Beijing Yizhuang has further interconnected the Future Machine Domain developer community, the rapid-response supply chain platform known as the Machine Cause Factory, and the Robot Flame Research Institute. Together, these form a complete chain covering display and trading, collaborative R&D, supply chain services, and scenario validation, creating a full-loop industrial path from exhibition to research, production, and application.

Where the journey begins

The robot industry has long faced the challenge of mismatched supply and demand. Companies must knock on doors one by one to find sales channels, while users need to comparison-shop across various robot options, noted Meng Yanpei, director of the commercial operations division at Beijing Yizhuang Robot Technology Industry Development Co., Ltd. To address this, Robot Mall has adapted the traditional automotive 4S store model—covering sales, parts, after-sales service, and information feedback—for the robot sector, while also providing additional services such as customized development, financing, and robot leasing.

As industry focus shifts from individual product technology to whether robots can enter real scenarios, solve practical problems, and sustain viable application models, Robot Mall's display approach is evolving accordingly. Meng explained that the latest upgrade emphasizes moving from product display to application display, allowing users to directly experience robots in concrete settings like home companionship, medical care, and entertainment performances. Extending further from displayed applications to actual deployment, the platform's services have also expanded. Since customer needs often revolve around solving a complete scenario problem rather than simply purchasing a single robot, the platform provides end-to-end support including demand consultation, scenario analysis, solution design, product selection, hardware-software integration, project delivery, and after-sales service. Related initiatives such as the robot 4S store and the embodied intelligence 6S experience center have already been launched in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Developer community bridges the secondary development gap

Once supply and demand are connected, the personalized needs arising from different application scenarios still require further development to become concrete solutions. To meet this need, Beijing Yizhuang has established the Future Machine Domain embodied intelligence robot developer community, offering developers support spanning technical validation, product R&D, and commercial implementation. The unique strength of Future Machine Domain lies in its full-stack approach and physical presence, said Liang Nan, who oversees ecological project operations at Beijing Yizhuang Robot Technology Industry Development Co., Ltd., and serves as head of both the developer community and supply chain platform. The community comprises online platforms, physical spaces, supply chain services, and incubation support, providing developers with workspace, technical infrastructure, policy tools, display and trading opportunities, scenario orders, capital support, and living amenities.

Online, the Future Machine Domain E-Bot Hub platform and its mini-program are now live, offering services such as open-source databases, scenario matching, resource sharing, technical support, data analytics, and social interaction. Offline, the physical community located in Building 52 of the Beijing Robot Industry Park spans nearly 5,000 square meters, featuring shared laboratories, office areas, activity zones, communication spaces, and relaxation areas. Developers can access experimental equipment and robot bodies at low or no cost, along with supply chain services like prototyping and component selection. The shared laboratories are currently equipped with 24 embodied intelligence platforms, including multiple humanoid robots, quadruped robot dogs, and research-grade dexterous hand systems. Beyond equipment access, this physical space is designed to foster cross-team technical exchange and collaborative development. All ten winning teams from the Yizhi Cup Yizhuang Embodied Intelligence Developer Challenge have moved into the offline community to continue refining their solutions.

Supply chain accelerates the journey from prototype to mass production

Moving from technical validation to product launch, robot projects must pass through component selection, prototyping, verification, and mass production stages. Data from Beijing Yizhuang shows that the city's robot industry revenue has grown from 1.5 billion yuan in 2023 to 5.18 billion yuan in 2025, with more than 30 complete robot manufacturers now operating. As R&D cycles accelerate, issues have emerged including sluggish supply chain response times, fragmented component systems, and poor衔接 between prototyping and mass production. In the past, companies in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region had to travel to the Pearl River Delta to source components for prototype development, with non-standard parts taking anywhere from two to four weeks to sample, Liang noted.

To tackle the problem of dispersed supply chain resources, the Machine Cause Factory adopts a dual architecture combining an online portal with offline physical spaces. It covers the full chain of selection, prototyping, verification, and production for standard parts, non-standard components, electronics, and core parts procurement and customization. To boost selection and delivery efficiency, the platform has introduced an express service system called 12485, bringing together over 20 leading suppliers to offer one-stop BOM (bill of materials) selection services for all robot categories. After a company submits its requirements, the platform completes connection assessment and initiates process evaluation within two hours, compresses standard parts physical delivery to 48 hours, and provides guarantees across five dimensions: selection, capacity, cost, collaboration, and implementation. The offline space serves to cluster supply chain enterprises, with the first phase covering 2,800 square meters and accommodating at least 50 supply chain companies. It has already reached full occupancy since opening, with tenants spanning dexterous hands, chips, communication modules, reducers, and LiDAR components. The platform also leverages the demand base formed by over 300 robot companies and more than 20,000 developers in Beijing Yizhuang to drive adaptation across upstream and downstream enterprises.

Beyond improving response and delivery efficiency, unifying component interfaces and protocols remains a critical challenge. Liang explained that the current interoperability and adaptation rate among different manufacturers' motors, reducers, and sensors is below 40 percent. To address this, the platform is establishing supplier准入 and履约 credit evaluation systems, while also promoting the gradual convergence of common interfaces and protocols through real-world testing and data feedback. Building on supply chain services, Beijing Yizhuang has also established the Beijing humanoid robot pilot testing and validation platform and the first ten-thousand-unit-level embodied intelligence robot super factory in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, further covering production needs from prototyping and pilot runs to mass manufacturing.

Real-world scenarios put robot capabilities to the test

Before moving from product development to commercial application, robots must undergo validation in real environments. The Robot Flame Research Institute 2.0 features eight scenarios: entrance reception, front-desk ordering, kitchen cooking, meal delivery, dining atmosphere, post-meal cleaning, leisure interaction, and parent-child experiences. Cooking has been a major focus of this upgrade. In version 1.0, robots mainly prepared simple foods like pancakes and grilled skewers. Now in version 2.0, robot chefs can cook approximately 50 Chinese dishes, including braised pork, stir-fried sausage with snow peas, and shredded potatoes. Through data training and parameter optimization, each seasoning addition by the robot chefs can be precise to within 0.1 grams, with heat control and seasoning ratios refined through repeated testing. Putting robots through real-world cooking conditions exposes problems that laboratories simply cannot reveal, Meng said. With nearly 20 robots of different forms working simultaneously in the restaurant, challenges arise in scheduling, obstacle avoidance, and coordination within limited spaces. These issues require further validation under real customer traffic and complex ordering demands, with the restaurant's daily flow of several hundred patrons providing operational data and user feedback for product iteration.

Building on existing scenarios, the Robot Flame Research Institute will continue to expand robot applications in reception guidance, food preparation, and entertainment experiences. According to the announced iteration roadmap, robot chefs will automatically adjust cooking parameters based on ingredient conditions and ambient temperature and humidity, offer personalized dishes according to taste preferences, and further reduce manual intervention throughout the entire operational process. Looking ahead, Beijing Yizhuang will continue to deepen its system of competition-driven development, scenario empowerment, and platform support, creating a batch of high-value application scenarios to attract more companies, said Ma Ning, deputy director of the Robot and Intelligent Manufacturing Industry Bureau of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area.