AWE2026 Exhibition is Here! Tech Giants Bet on "Physical AI" as Large Models Integrate into Traditional Home Appliances

From March 12 to 15, the China Home Appliances and Consumer Electronics Expo (AWE2026) was held in Shanghai. As the main exhibition area of AWE 2026, the Shanghai New International Expo Center covered 13 pavilions, with over 140,000 square meters of display space, gathering more than 1,000 domestic and international exhibitors.

After visiting the AWE2026 site, the most immediate impression from the reporter was that “AI technology” has become a key theme throughout the event. Traditional industry giants like Alibaba, TCL, and Ecovacs (603486.SH) are accelerating their bets on “Physical AI”; emerging tech companies like ChaseMe and QiangNao Technology showcased their strengths in “future fields”; and more established home appliance brands such as Gree, Hisense, TCL, and Changhong also displayed their AI capabilities.

In 2026, as AI begins to integrate into various industries, the so-called “future” people often talk about seems to have arrived.

“Physical AI” Takes Center Stage

At the start of 2026, the tech industry focused on a specific sector: “Physical AI.”

At this year’s AWE, companies previously focused on TVs, vacuum cleaners, smartphones, and e-commerce also introduced new products exploring “Physical AI.”

ChaseMe Technology, occupying an entire E7 pavilion, showcased a full matrix of products including smart cars, smartphones, home appliances, sky exploration, energy equipment, and comprehensive chips.

Within ChaseMe’s pavilion, a large display featured AI smartphones, climbing robots, versatile home assistant robots, clothes-folding robots, computing cabinets, and storage chips—all aligned with the “Physical AI” theme.

Yu Hao, founder and CEO of ChaseMe, stated on-site that the company has always prioritized R&D, with investment levels three times higher than industry peers. Currently, ChaseMe employs about 20,000 R&D management personnel, and by the end of this year, it expects to have 50,000 R&D staff continuously advancing core technologies.

(Yu Hao appears at the ChaseMe pavilion at AWE)

Besides ChaseMe, other terminal forms showcased at AWE have also undergone significant changes.

Tesla displayed its humanoid robot Optimus; in the Innovation Technology zone, QiangNao Technology demonstrated a bionic dexterous hand twisting a light bulb, with an operation precision of 0.1mm and a grip force of 5kg; Aoshark Intelligence showcased a waist exoskeleton designed to reduce handling load.

The reporter noted that hardware manufacturers at this event are increasingly focusing on physical extensions with mobility, grasping, or augmented reality visual capabilities.

Notably, traditional home appliance brands also presented several embodied intelligent products.

Ecovacs officially displayed its first AI bionic companion robot, MaoTuaner, shaped like a Maltese dog, priced at 3,999 yuan.

According to Ecovacs staff, this robot collects motion data from real dogs, recognizes gestures via a high-definition wide-angle camera on its nose, and uses touch sensors to trigger responses like wagging its tail or rubbing against hands.

Additionally, Ecovacs showcased the Butler robot, Banjie, equipped with OpenClaw grippers capable of upgrading storage space from flat surfaces to three-dimensional space.

(Photos of Ecovacs’ MaoTuaner and Banjie)

Stone Technology announced the G-Rover wheel-legged vacuum robot on-site.

According to product specs, it features a dual-wheel-legged architecture, aiming for autonomous movement and cleaning in complex layouts like duplexes and villas.

Meanwhile, Haier launched the HaWa series of household service robots, including cleaning, companionship, and household chores robots. The companionship robot can remind the elderly to take medication and monitor falls for timely intervention.

Gree Electric (000651.SZ) exhibited a dual-arm flexible operation robot based on a flexible force control six-axis design, capable of millimeter-level dynamic pressure regulation and multimodal sensing. It demonstrated precise, coordinated dual-arm work by writing the character “Ma,” showcasing its accuracy. The multimodal perception robot, integrating vision, force, and tactile sensing, can handle fragile items like tofu without damage, achieving breakthroughs in precise grasping and flexible operations.

Kitchen appliance companies are also extending hardware forms toward wearable devices and integrated robotic arms.

At the exhibition, the booth of Aishida (002403.SZ) already featured humanoid robots. The company, which has held a controlling stake in Zhejiang Qianjiang Robotics since 2016, has long been involved in intelligent manufacturing. A company executive stated that they have invested billions into advancing smart manufacturing.

Aishida is actively promoting the integration of robots with kitchenware to build a complete ecosystem—from ingredient processing and precise cooking to health management—making robots “smart partners” that understand temperature, nutrition, and taste in the kitchen.

Robam Electric (002508.SZ) launched AI cooking glasses equipped with the Shen Big Model. Live demos showed that users wearing the glasses could identify ingredients like pork belly and tenderloin, with AR interfaces providing salt-adding or flipping instructions, and simultaneously controlling range hoods and stoves.

FOTILE showcased the Cook system, an embodied smart kitchen system integrating heterogeneous robots and high-precision mechanical arms, demonstrating automated cooking processes.

Native robotics companies revealed specific industrial operation data at the event.

Zhihang Robotics’ A1 robot, developed independently, demonstrated flexible wiring harness assembly on-site. Certified by Guinness World Records, it completed 105 sub-millimeter wiring harness assemblies in one hour. Chief scientist Ding Wenchao noted that wiring harness assembly requires high precision and has traditionally relied on manual labor.

Magic Atom showcased two industrial robots—humanoid MagicBot Gen1 and quadruped MagicDog Y1—simultaneously.

(Photos of Magic Atom’s robots)

In the field of wearable and specialized robots, new products are more concentrated than in previous years.

TCL’s Thunderbird Innovation, in partnership with Amap, released the Thunderbird Smart Life app, applying AR spatial computing to sandbox navigation and nearby quick searches; Alibaba’s Qianwen AI glasses also debuted an offline experience at the event. As of March 8, the Qianwen AI glasses G1 went on sale, selling out in some channels within three hours.

(Thunderbird booth)

Platform and channel providers are innovating business models to promote robot deployment.

JD.com showcased over 60 robots at its booth and announced the launch of the Smart Robot Industry Acceleration 2.0 plan, supporting JoyAI large models and introducing standardized robot battery solutions.

At JD’s booth, Yushu Technology debuted a JD-branded R1 humanoid robot in blue and white; Zhisheng Technology demonstrated BaoBao, a robot capable of switching between humanoid and dog forms.

JD stated that over 200 smart robot brands are now on its platform, aiming to help partners reach a billion-yuan revenue scale by 2026.

For the first time, commercial leasing models appeared at AWE.

The reporter learned from Qingtian Leasing, the world’s first robot leasing service platform, that they showcased deployment plans for robots like Zhiyuan Lingxi X2 and Expedition A2.

CEO Li Yiyan said that leasing models effectively lower the barrier for users to try robots, transforming them from mere display items into usable tools. Many shopping malls and cultural tourism clients are already consulting on integrating robots into their offline traffic and reception services.

Cutting-Edge Technology Enhances Home Appliance Optimization

Currently, AI integration in home appliances is a clear market trend.

With deep empowerment from AI algorithms and sensing systems, various AI home appliances are becoming smarter. Examples include the Xingchu Smart Oven with AI aroma sensing technology that actively perceives ingredient flavors; Ai Calm King air conditioners with AI dynamic energy-saving tech; and Mingzhu refrigerators that identify over 200 food categories and characteristics via AI visual sensors. At this year’s AWE, Gree showcased multiple AI home appliances.

On the first day, new products drew attention. For example, Gree’s Ai Calm King cabinet air conditioner is not just an air conditioner but the center of a whole-house smart ecosystem. It features an internally built smart home hub, equipped with Gree’s self-developed AI home appliance large model, enabling autonomous perception and linkage of all household devices, lighting, and security.

TCL, under the theme “AI Technology, Enjoy the Future,” displayed several AI-integrated appliances, including the world’s first flagship TV TCL X11L with next-generation SQD-Mini LED technology, TCL Little Blue Wing P7 Ultra AI health sleep air conditioner, original deep-cold dual-magnetic fresh-keeping refrigerator, and TCL AI super washer-dryer P9 Ultra, among other smart terminals and solutions.

Lushui, president of TCL Industrial China, told the reporter during AWE 2026 that AI offers significant opportunities for Chinese home appliance brands and manufacturing. In recent years, smart appliances focused on “smart for the sake of smart,” such as voice-activated functions and voice control. These simple smart features quickly lose consumer interest. Now, smart appliances are being redesigned around truly solving consumer pain points.

Lushui highlighted the improvements AI brings to TVs: “Particularly noteworthy is the TV category, as it is highly related to AI. Everyone knows that the core function of a TV is picture quality. AI has made a leap in enhancing picture quality. For example, TCL uses the Fuxi large model, based on its TSR AI independent picture quality chip, with cloud and device collaboration architecture, to comprehensively identify content and viewing environment, providing real-time optimal matching and adjustment algorithms.”

Changhong also showcased a full line of AI home appliances at this event, including the RGB-Mini LED TV, AI human-sensing air conditioner, AI refrigerator and washing machine suite, with the RGB MiniLED TV—part of the Golden Label T70S series—debuting for the first time, along with the industry’s first RGB ambient light wall-mounted TV, the Zhaoguang Q70S. “New products feature emotional AI interaction, supporting customizable startup videos and one-sentence screen projection,” said a Changhong staff member.

It is also understood that from high-end flagship models to affordable units, large models are accelerating their penetration into new TV models.

(Changhong AI air conditioner)

The reporter from Cailian News learned from Hisense Visual (600060.SH) that in the AI TV field, Hisense has built five major capabilities: full customization of audio and video, multimodal natural interaction, generative AI desktop, Xiaojia super intelligent agent, and Geeker影音中心, forming an integrated “end-cloud-chip” AI capability system, transforming TVs from “viewing devices” into family smart hubs.

With AI support, kitchen and bathroom products are better equipped to address user needs.

Vatti (002035.SZ) showcased a steam oven with “humidity control cooking” and “AI cooking” technologies, which dynamically adjust parameters via intelligent humidity sensors, allowing cooking novices to replicate professional results.

(Vatti kitchen appliance)

Midea (002543.SZ) presented products responding to market demands with AI core temperature control and interactive features: the Super Sensing Core maintains precise water temperature control across all bathing scenarios; Midea’s fourth-generation small round dot can adjust water temperature via voice in the bathroom and supports elderly-friendly interaction pages.

Ugreen (301606.SZ), themed “Connecting AI, Protecting the Future,” displayed innovations in smart storage and fast charging, including AI NAS ecosystem applications and announced plans for an AI security ecosystem. They also introduced the new Ugreen iDX series AI NAS equipped with LLM language models.

Ugreen AI Lab director Zhou Kaijie said on-site that their definition of AI NAS is how AI capabilities make NAS usage smarter and more convenient. As a smart storage hub, adding intelligent security systems extends Ugreen’s focus from digital asset protection to physical space security.

In smart home, Mousse (001323.SZ) launched its first HarmonyOS Mousse Smart Bed Pro H-Design, equipped with XingShan technology digital base, achieving millisecond response speeds. It can connect stably within 35 meters without internet, enabling full-home smart control from the bed.

(Visitors experience Mousse mattress)

Note: All images are taken by Cailian News reporters.

(Source: Cailian News)