CtrlK
| HIVA Haiwa |
|---|
| General information |
| Manufacturer |
| Development partner |
| Country of origin |
| Year unveiled |
| Status |
| Target price |
| Website |
HIVA Haiwa is a wheeled humanoid robot developed by Haier Group Corporation in partnership with RobotEra (Star Era Technology Co.), a Beijing-based humanoid robotics startup. Unveiled on July 26, 2025 at the Appliance & Electronics World Expo (AWE 2025) in Shanghai, the robot is positioned as a "housework terminator" designed for domestic assistance. HIVA Haiwa is built on a customized version of RobotEra's Q5 wheeled humanoid platform and features 44 degrees of freedom, dexterous hands, and deep integration with the Haier Smart Home cloud ecosystem. The robot represents Haier's strategic push into consumer robotics as an extension of its position as the world's largest home appliance brand.[1][2][3]
Haier Group Corporation is a Chinese multinational home appliances and consumer electronics company headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. Founded in 1984 when Zhang Ruimin was appointed director of the financially troubled Qingdao Refrigerator Factory, Haier grew to become China's largest home appliance brand by the late 1990s, capturing over 30% of the domestic refrigerator market. The company diversified into televisions, washing machines, and air conditioners during the 1990s, and pursued aggressive international expansion from 1998 to 2005, establishing 18 manufacturing plants, 17 distribution centers, and 9 research and development centers worldwide.[4]
As of 2024, Haier Smart Home reported global revenue of approximately RMB 286 billion (roughly $39.5 billion USD), with operations spanning more than 160 countries. The company operates under multiple brand names including Haier, Casarte, Leader, GE Appliances, Fisher & Paykel, Aqua, Candy, and Evo. According to Euromonitor International, Haier has held the position of the world's number one home appliance brand for over a dozen consecutive years.[5][6]
Haier's involvement in robotics dates back to 1999, when Haier Smart Home established a robotics company and co-built a robotics research center with Harbin Institute of Technology. Over the following two decades, the company gradually expanded its robotics capabilities through a series of acquisitions and partnerships:[7]
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1999 | Haier establishes robotics company; co-founds robotics research center with Harbin Institute of Technology |
| 2022 | Acquires 100% of Qingdao Boer Robot for RMB 125 million |
| 2023 | Acquires domestic robot manufacturer Sinstar to accelerate embodied intelligence efforts |
| 2024 | Collaborates with Leju Robotics to showcase Kuavo humanoid robot at AWE 2024 |
| 2025 (Feb) | Announces acquisition of controlling stake in Shanghai STEP Electric Corporation for approximately RMB 2.5 billion ($343 million USD) |
| 2025 (Jul) | Unveils HIVA Haiwa at AWE 2025 |
| 2025 | Establishes Haier Brothers Robotics Technology (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. as a wholly-owned subsidiary with RMB 10 million in registered capital |
The establishment of Haier Brothers Robotics Technology (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. formalized the company's robotics ambitions, with a business scope covering the development and sales of intelligent robots, industrial robots, and artificial intelligence hardware and software. Haier designated 2025 as a pivotal year for full AI implementation across its smart home, healthcare, and industrial internet sectors.[7][8]
The HIVA Haiwa was developed in collaboration with RobotEra (Star Era Technology Co.), a Beijing-based humanoid robotics startup founded in 2023 by Chen Jianyu, with shares held by Tsinghua University. Haier Capital, a subsidiary of Haier Group, co-led RobotEra's Series A funding round in July 2025, which raised CNY 500 million (approximately $69 million USD), alongside CDH Investments. RobotEra subsequently secured a Series A+ round of nearly RMB 1 billion ($140 million) in November 2025, led by Geely Capital, with Haier Capital participating as an existing strategic investor. As of 2026, RobotEra is valued at approximately $1.45 billion.[9][10]
Beyond financial investment, Haier Capital serves as a client of RobotEra through its affiliate Haier Smart Home, collaborating on home service robot development. The HIVA Haiwa appears to be a customized version of RobotEra's Q5 wheeled humanoid platform, which features a compact waist design and 44 degrees of freedom optimized for indoor service tasks.[3][11]
Prior to the HIVA Haiwa, Haier and RobotEra jointly developed a home service robot called "Xiaoxing" (Little Star), a bipedal household service robot that was showcased at the AWE 2025 China Appliance and Consumer Electronics Expo in March 2025.[2][12]
The HIVA Haiwa stands 165 cm (5 feet 5 inches) tall and weighs approximately 70 kg (154 lbs), giving it proportions similar to a small adult human. Rather than bipedal legs, the robot uses a wheeled mobile base platform, which provides stable, efficient navigation through domestic environments. The wheeled design choice prioritizes reliability and energy efficiency over the bipedal locomotion found in robots like Tesla Optimus or Figure 02, while sacrificing the ability to navigate stairs. The compact base footprint allows the robot to maneuver through narrow corridors and tight indoor spaces typical of residential settings.[1][2][13]
The robot features a humanoid upper body with two highly articulated arms capable of reaching from floor level up to 2 meters in height, enabling it to access elevated shelves, cabinets, and other storage areas throughout a typical home. The overall design emphasizes practical domestic utility over anthropomorphic aesthetics.[1]
HIVA Haiwa incorporates 44 total degrees of freedom distributed across its arms, hands, and mobile base, powered by all-electric actuators for high-precision motion control. The dexterous hands enable the robot to grip, manipulate, and use household tools and fabrics with precision adequate for tasks such as ironing and folding clothes. Based on the Q5 platform, each arm likely uses RobotEra's XHAND Lite 11-DoF dexterous hand, which offers fast response rates (up to 10 actions per second) and a payload capacity of up to 10 kg per hand. The arms themselves feature 7 degrees of freedom each, providing human-like range of motion for reaching and positioning.[1][13][14]
The robot is equipped with machine vision and tactile sensors for object recognition, environment perception, and safe manipulation. Based on the Q5 platform's sensor suite, the perception system likely includes:[1][13][14]
These sensors work together through sensor fusion algorithms to enable SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) navigation and visual odometry, allowing the robot to build and update a map of its environment in real time.[13]
HIVA Haiwa features onboard high-performance controllers for real-time actuation, perception, and communication with smart home systems. The robot runs a Linux-based operating system with ROS (Robot Operating System) integration, with cloud-assisted AI support for more complex processing tasks. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and integration with the Haier Smart Home cloud platform, enabling seamless coordination with household appliances and remote software updates.[1][13]
| Category | Specification | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Physical | Height | 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) |
| Physical | Weight | 70 kg (154 lbs) |
| Physical | Locomotion | Wheeled mobile base |
| Physical | Reach height | Up to 2 meters |
| Mobility | Total degrees of freedom | 44 |
| Mobility | DOF per arm | 7 |
| Mobility | DOF per hand | 11 (XHAND Lite) |
| Mobility | Maximum speed | ~2 km/h (0.56 m/s) |
| Manipulation | Arm payload | 5 kg per arm |
| Manipulation | Hand payload | Up to 10 kg per hand |
| Manipulation | Fingers per hand | 5 |
| Sensors | Vision | RGB cameras, stereo cameras |
| Sensors | Spatial | LiDAR, IMU, gyroscope |
| Sensors | Tactile | Force/torque sensors |
| Computing | Operating system | Linux / ROS |
| Connectivity | Wireless | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
| Connectivity | Smart home | Haier Smart Home Cloud |
| Software | Architecture | Closed source |
| Software | Control mode | Teleoperation (training phase); autonomous (planned) |
HIVA Haiwa can perform a range of cleaning tasks including sweeping, mopping floors, and picking up rubbish in hard-to-reach places. The robot's 2-meter vertical reach allows it to clean elevated surfaces and access areas that are difficult for traditional floor-cleaning robots. Its dexterous hands enable it to operate cleaning tools and floor washers, switching between vacuuming and mopping modes.[1][2]
The robot is designed to handle the complete laundry cycle: removing clothes from washing machines, ironing garments, folding clothes, and storing laundry in appropriate locations. These tasks require significant dexterity and the ability to manipulate soft, deformable materials, which the robot's high-DOF hands are specifically designed to handle.[1][2]
HIVA Haiwa can perform basic cooking tasks including heating ingredients, mixing, and interacting with kitchen appliances such as ovens, stovetops, and refrigerators. Through its integration with the Haier Smart Home ecosystem, the robot can directly communicate with and control smart kitchen appliances.[1][2]
A distinguishing feature of the HIVA Haiwa compared to robots from pure robotics companies is its deep integration with Haier's extensive smart home appliance ecosystem. The robot can communicate with and control Haier smart appliances through the Haier Smart Home Cloud, enabling coordinated operations across multiple devices. This integration leverages Haier's UhomeOS smart home operating system and the Uhome AI model, which has been trained on 100 billion home life data points to understand user habits and preferences.[15][16]
As of its mid-2025 unveiling, the HIVA Haiwa operates primarily through remote teleoperation, with its actions controlled by engineers. This is an intentional and necessary phase of development rather than a limitation, as the teleoperation serves a dual purpose: demonstrating the robot's physical capabilities while simultaneously collecting training data for its machine learning systems. The remote operation allows the robot to accumulate the movement data and task execution patterns needed to train autonomous behavior.[1][2]
RobotEra's Q5 platform supports full-body teleoperation via VR rigs, sensor gloves, and other input devices, enabling precise human-in-the-loop control for data collection and training purposes.[14]
Haier plans for HIVA to eventually achieve full autonomous operation through advanced, cloud-assisted AI. The development approach follows an increasingly common paradigm in humanoid robotics: using teleoperation to generate high-quality demonstration data, then training neural network models to replicate and generalize from those demonstrations. RobotEra's EraAI embodied intelligence platform facilitates lifecycle AI workflows including data collection, model training, simulation, and closed-loop validation.[14]
By September 2025, Haier Smart Home reported that "the product form of the household service robot HIVA has basically matured," suggesting progress beyond the initial prototype stage toward a more refined design suitable for broader testing or eventual commercialization.[17]
At AWE 2026, held in Shanghai in March 2026, Haier expanded the HIVA brand into a broader product line encompassing three categories of household service robots:[18][19]
| Robot | Description | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| HIVA Cleaning Robot | Embodied cleaning robot for 3D-space home cleaning | Dirt detection; 3D semantic perception; mounted vacuum; gripper for trash pickup; recognizes nearly 1,000 household item types; switches between vacuuming and mopping modes |
| HIVA Companion Robot | Health monitoring and elderly care companion | Fall detection with remote family alerts; medication reminders; voice-controlled appliance management; health advice system integration; emergency family contact |
| HIVA Household Robot | General household task assistant (evolution of HIVA Haiwa) | Advanced vision for material and posture recognition; barcode and visual sorting of groceries; automatic refrigerator food storage with optimal preservation mode matching |
The HIVA Household Robot demonstrated the ability to automatically transfer newly purchased food into the refrigerator, using barcode and visual recognition to sort items and place them in the correct storage areas while matching the best preservation settings. These innovations are powered by Haier's upgraded Smart Home Brain built on UHomeOS, an AI-based smart home operating system, along with AI Vision 2.0 technology featuring improved recognition range, accuracy, and response speed.[18][19]
The HIVA robot line operates within Haier's broader AI ecosystem, anchored by UhomeOS, described as the industry's first AI-based smart home operating system. The Smart Home Brain running on UhomeOS connects devices such as refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and kitchen appliances to a unified platform. A vertical large language model trained specifically for home scenarios allows the system to understand and anticipate user needs.[15][16]
Haier's "AI Eye" (AI Vision) technology, first introduced as version 1.0 in 2025, equips smart appliances with multimodal perception. Range hoods can track cooking pots, ovens can monitor grilling progress, and washing machines can analyze laundry cycles. AI Vision 2.0, launched at AWE 2026, extends these capabilities with broader recognition range, greater accuracy, and faster response speed. The HIVA robots leverage this same visual AI technology for their own object recognition and environmental perception.[15][16]
The Uhome AI model, trained on 100 billion home life data points, powers predictive features across the Haier ecosystem. The model enables devices and robots to learn user habits and preemptively adjust settings, moving toward what Haier calls "unmanned housework," the concept of a home where routine chores are handled entirely without human intervention.[15]
HIVA Haiwa enters a growing market of household humanoid robots being developed by major home appliance companies. Several global appliance manufacturers have pursued similar strategies of leveraging their smart home ecosystems to develop domestic robots:
| Company | Robot | Type | Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haier | HIVA Haiwa | Wheeled humanoid | Partnership with RobotEra; integrated with Haier Smart Home Cloud |
| Midea | MIRO / MIRO-U | Wheeled multi-arm | In-house development leveraging KUKA acquisition (2016); industrial focus with MIRO-U |
| LG Electronics | CLOiD | Wheeled humanoid | Home-focused; "Zero Labor Home" vision; investments in Figure AI, Agibot, and Dyna Robotics |
| Samsung | Ballie | Companion robot | Rolling ball design; home monitoring and device control |
| Dyson | Unnamed (in development) | Household robot | Over 2,000 engineers assigned; planning household robots within a decade |
A notable distinction between these players is their approach to technology development. Midea acquired German industrial robotics leader KUKA in 2016 for $5.1 billion, giving it deep in-house robotics expertise. Haier has instead pursued a partnership-based model, investing in and collaborating with specialized robotics startups like RobotEra and Leju Robotics. LG has taken a hybrid approach, combining internal R&D through its HS Robotics Lab with strategic investments in multiple robotics companies.[3][20][21]
Compared to Midea, which initially focused its MIRO series on industrial manufacturing applications, Haier has concentrated on home service robots from the outset, a strategy that aligns with its core consumer-facing business model.[20]
Haier's February 2025 acquisition of a controlling stake in Shanghai STEP Electric Corporation for approximately RMB 2.5 billion ($343 million) gave the company a foothold in industrial robotics as well. STEP Electric, founded in 1995, originally provided elevator systems before shifting to industrial robotics, developing hardware and systems for consumer electronics, automotive, semiconductor, and humanoid robotics applications. This dual approach positions Haier to compete in both consumer and industrial robotics markets, similar to Midea's strategy with KUKA.[8][22]
As of early 2026, the HIVA Haiwa remains in the prototype and development phase. It has not been released commercially, and Haier has not announced an official shipping timeline or confirmed pricing. Industry estimates place the eventual consumer price in the range of $50,000 to $80,000 USD, based on comparable wheeled humanoid platforms. Target markets are expected to include consumer households in China, the United States, and select European countries.[1][13]