Shape-shifting T1 personal robot transforms from humanoid to robot dog to climb stairs

Unlike most humanoid designs currently flooding the market, the T1 breaks from the form convention with a single body that switches between two distinct forms.

It can stand and walk upright as a biped for tasks requiring height and dexterity or drop into a quadrupedal stance for more stable, faster movement over uneven terrain. The company calls the underlying shape-shifting concept a Transformer architecture, and the aim is to make it the main feature separating the T1 from the wave of humanoid robots debuting this year.

Beyond the shape-shifting abilities, the T1 packs a standard but fairly broad feature set for a modern home robot: compliant force control for handshakes and object handling, quiet mode, voiceprint recognition with sound source localization, long term memory, foreign language tutoring, and even graphical programming for tinkerers who want to extend its behavior.

The list of personal robot features also includes smart following, adaptive navigation over rough surfaces, item carrying, a built-in Bluetooth speaker, and a few camera tricks like Hitchcock zoom and orbit shots.

According to the CEO, the design deliberately steps outside the traditional humanoid mold to better suit household use, the needs of which can't really be predicted. His company is now opening experience stores in several major Chinese cities, with the T1 expected to feature at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 expo in Shanghai later this month.

Mum's the word on the T1 pricing that could make or break a personal home robot these days when everyone and their robot dog is crafting and releasing humanoid helpers.