Xpeng Motors unveiled its new humanoid robot, IRON, during the company’s “AI Day” event in Guangzhou, China, in November 2025. The moment it walked onto the stage, its posture, gait, and overall presence appeared so strikingly human that social media immediately exploded with accusations that the “robot” was really just a person in a suit.
To shut down the rumors, Xpeng’s CEO, He Xiaopeng, ordered a bold on-stage demonstration. In front of the live audience, an engineer sliced open IRON’s synthetic outer “skin and muscle” on its leg, revealing the metal framework, servos, and wiring beneath while the robot remained powered on. After the cutaway exposed its mechanical inner structure, IRON calmly walked across the stage again, confirming it was a machine and not an actor.
The rumors had stung the team. According to He Xiaopeng, some doubters dismissed the robot simply because it was built by a Chinese company implying the realism couldn’t have been domestically engineered. The “cut-open leg” moment, he said, was the final proof they needed.
By design, IRON features a humanoid spine, bionic muscle systems, and a fully flexible outer skin. It boasts 82 degrees of freedom, allowing highly detailed joint movement including fine motor control in the hands and runs on custom AI chips meant to merge advanced robotics with artificial intelligence.
While not intended for home use, Xpeng plans for IRON to serve in roles such as showroom assistants, guidance staff in office buildings, or other commercial and industrial tasks.
Xpeng’s dramatic demonstration blurred the line between a “human-looking robot” and a person in costume, highlighting just how far humanoid robotics have advanced. It also revealed how deeply perception, skepticism, and the uncanny valley affect public trust enough to push a company into performing a literal onstage “dissection.”
As robots become increasingly lifelike, the IRON incident raises larger questions about ethics, transparency, and how society should respond when machines begin to resemble us a little too closely.
Dana B
1st- why are many of the “lifelike” robots always women? (yeah, it’s creepy).
2. Anyone else see a similarity to iRobot here? also creepy.
3. is there really a demand for “showroom guides” being a robot? Like will they get “awake” and want to earn a commission by any means necessary? bad enough sometimes with a real person but how boring to deal with a robot when you want to buy a Lazyboy.
4. Do we really want kiosks and robots instead of people? not sure I want a full size animatronic robot near me. anyone see 5 nights at Freddy’s? like animatronic stuff is creepy… no one likes it… so stop it.
robot dogs who save lives and find bombs and gas are okay.
Kevin B
Freaky. looks like a woman with a prosthetic. If it’s “full” robot…even freakier.