China expands humanoid robot trials with free home units and Seres' new Xiaosai model

Chinese startup GigaAI is rolling out a free public trial of its SeeLight S1 humanoid robot in Wuhan, placing 100 units in employee and tech‑related households before expanding to ordinary homes in early 2027. The robot can perform a full morning routine, clean, fold laundry, water plants and feed fish, and learns from daily use. Data collected with user consent will be used for product research. The trial follows a Shenzhen pilot where robots assisted professional cleaners with repetitive tasks.

Separately, automaker Seres unveiled its first humanoid robot, Xiaosai, featuring visual recognition, autonomous greeting and voice interaction. The robot is already used in Seres’ factory for chassis quality inspection and exterior checks, part of a broader push by Chinese car makers into embodied AI. Seres recently partnered with Volcengine, a ByteDance subsidiary, to develop decision‑making and control technologies for robotics.