Humanoid robots sing, box and chat at Hong Kong tech exhibition

Humanoid robots sang songs, switched between Mandarin and English, and answered questions from visitors inside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where more than 100 robots were spread across two fairs that opened April 13. One machine, about the size of a primary school student, drew cheers as it performed for crowds; another from Novautek was shown throwing punches, while AGIBOT Innovation's X2 Ultra stood among the main attractions.

The display was built less like a novelty show than a business pitch. InnoEX and the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) ran through April 16, bringing together more than 550 exhibitors from 21 countries and regions. InnoEX was jointly organised by Hong Kong's Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and the 2026 edition was centered on AI+, Robotics, the Low-altitude Economy, Property Technology and Retail Technology. A new RoboPark zone linked the two exhibitions and showcased robots across more than 100 application scenarios.

The machines on show pointed to where Chinese developers want humanoids to move next: out of sealed factory lanes and into schools, shops, rescue work and homes. When asked about its hobbies, one robot said it liked sports, dancing, studying technology and listening to music, a polished script meant to make the machine feel less mechanical and more approachable. Calvin Chiu, chief operating officer of Novautek Autonomous Driving, said the robot could provide emotional satisfaction through conversation and serve as a teacher to older adults and children. He said different robots can be programmed with different personalities and described the machine as being "like a friend."

That pitch carries a sharper policy edge in China, where the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued humanoid-robot development guidance in October 2023 and state media later said the recommendations for the 2026-2030 five-year plan position embodied intelligence as a new engine of growth. In Hong Kong, the fair also doubled as a signal of the city's own ambitions, with a Smart Hong Kong Pavilion under the theme "AI+ Hong Kong" underscoring the government’s attempt to tie robotics to smart-city planning.

What the exhibition showed clearly was the gap between stage-ready performance and practical deployment. The crowd-pleasing songs, boxing demos and friendly banter were designed to prove that humanoids can already entertain and interact, while the broader fair tried to show they can also serve public-facing roles in education, retail and companionship. The real test now is whether those machines can move beyond tightly choreographed demonstrations and into everyday use at scale.