SHANGHAI, April 27, 2026 — Humanoid robots are moving from laboratories to public spaces, and rental has become a fast‑penetrating entry point in this wave of commercialization. While Unitree robots sparked national excitement at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, the rental market has seen both high daily rates of RMB 8,000 and the operational reality of one technician per robot. At the intersection of technology and commercialization, the rental model has gained growing market attention.
Recently, Rebecca Yu, Managing Director of CIC, shared her views in an exclusive interview wit China City News, a publication under the People's Daily , clarifying pain points in industrial development and putting forward actionable suggestions.
Scenarios with Potential to Transition from Viral Buzz to High-Frequency Essential Demand
In her interview, Rebecca analyzed in detail which scenarios are most likely to evolve from "social-media-driven highlights" into "high-frequency essentials" that would serve as the core pillars supporting the long-term growth of the rental model. According to Rebecca, as robot rental moves toward high-frequency essential adoption, three major scenarios—smart education, cultural tourism guided tours, and commercial services—demonstrate significant commercial potential. Their core characteristics include sustained business demand, effective substitution of repetitive manual labor, and superior economic efficiency and asset flexibility of rental over direct purchasing.
In the smart education scenario, with artificial intelligence being incorporated into middle and primary school curricula, robots serve as "hands-on tools" in after-school programs and STEM competitions, creating high-frequency usage scenarios. Teaching needs drive frequent re-rentals. Against hardware iteration pressure and procurement costs, the rental model enables flexible low-barrier iteration, driving robotic teaching aids from project-based pilot programs to normalized teaching infrastructure.
In the cultural tourism guided tour scenario, the demand for explanation services is sustained and rigid. Humanoid robots provide standardized multilingual guidance, effectively addressing both the high cost and inconsistent quality of traditional human guides. As technology matures further, robotic guided tours can be upgraded to normalized operational infrastructure.
In the commercial services scenario, shopping malls, brand pop-ups and marketing events strive for sustained foot traffic. Robots can perform functions including greeting, interaction and performance, gradually becoming standardized service fixtures for physical retail locations and branded events.
“Volume Surge, Price Decline”: A Healthy Industry Signal
The interview noted “volume surge, price decline” in industry data and asked whether this trend signals healthy development or a short‑term bubble, and how to define reasonable rental ranges and break‑even points.
Rebecca stated that “volume surge, price decline” reflects current supply and demand dynamics and is a healthy signal that the industry is entering a phase of large‑scale, accessible cultivation. On the demand side, application value in commercial performances, guided reception, and other scenarios has been verified, with high‑exposure events such as the Spring Festival Gala further boosting rental demand. On the supply side, maturing industrial chains, falling core component costs, and higher manufacturing automation have reduced depreciation and operation costs, providing structural support for lower rental fees.
She warned against short‑term bubble risks from excessive price‑cutting to grab market share, which may erode service quality and delivery capacity. A reasonable rental range must cover equipment depreciation, delivery, operation, labor, and risk costs. Medium‑ to long‑term rentals are likely to fall further from current elevated levels, as robot prices ranging from several hundred thousand to several million yuan will also decline. Long‑term profitability depends on higher equipment turnover and service added value; pure rental margins will narrow, while providers with content design and scenario solution capabilities will achieve sustainable profits via integrated services.
Robot Rental as a Commercialization Pathway
Rebecca explained that robot rental is a commercialization pathway for high‑iteration scenarios at the current technological stage, acting as both a buffer and an accelerator. It lowers customer trial costs, enabling rapid commercial validation in galas, tourism, education, and other fields, and forming a closed loop of demand feedback, technology iteration, and product optimization. Real‑world data flows back to R&D, reducing misallocation and waste and accelerating the shift from lab prototypes to engineering deployment.
The sustainability of rental depends on the technology maturity curve. Today’s robots still require heavy manual support, meaning rental providers bear both technology risk and service integration. As “brain–cerebellum collaboration” improves, devices will evolve from service‑intensive rentals to standardized productivity tools, making purchase gradually more economical than rental.
Rental is not a one‑size‑fits‑all solution. Procurement remains dominant in highly customized, continuous‑operation settings such as industrial manufacturing. But in performance, guidance, education, and other high‑iteration, diverse‑demand sectors, rental is among the optimal ways to connect technology and market, avoiding redundant R&D and speeding commercialization.
Core Pain Points and Critical Contradictions
The industry faces multiple challenges: high operating costs (one technician per robot), idle equipment among small and medium rental firms, seasonal volatility from overconcentration in entertainment, and data silos that hinder technology feedback. The interview asked whether these threaten sustainable commercialization and which contradictions are most urgent.
Rebecca confirmed these challenges but distinguished between frictions of a transitional phase and structural flaws. The most critical contradiction is the mismatch between technological maturity and large‑scale commercial demands. High operating costs and heavy manual intervention stem from incomplete engineering of “brain–cerebellum collaboration” and insufficient autonomous stability in complex environments. This determines whether rental can shift from heavy to light operation and is prerequisite to cost optimization.
Idle equipment and seasonality are typical of a market‑cultivation phase and can be eased via platform integration and scenario diversification, rather than being structural barriers. Data silos hinder technical feedback but can be resolved as platform players enter and industry standards take shape.
In the long run, coordinated evolution of technology, cost, and business models is key. Higher technological maturity will systematically reduce reliance on manual support, expand application scenarios, smooth seasonality, and reshape profitability. Current problems act as a catalyst for technology iteration and industrial consolidation, not fundamental barriers to commercialization.
Profit Model Innovation and Future Focus
Leading platforms are exploring profit models such as “equipment turnover + technical services + scenario packaging” (custom programming, on‑site service fees), “robot 4S stores,” and “technology + finance + scenarios.” The interview asked whether these can solve thin margins from pure rental and where future profit pools will shift.
Rebecca confirmed that such innovative models effectively ease thin pure‑rental margins and drive the industry from hardware rental to value‑added services. Future profit cores will tilt toward upstream technology integration and downstream data operation.
“Equipment turnover + technical services + scenario packaging” shifts profit from hardware to choreography, content development, and delivery certainty, commanding premiums for reliability and results. “Robot 4S stores” provide standardized full‑life‑cycle services for recurring revenue. “Technology + finance + scenarios” lowers customer barriers and locks in long‑term cooperation.
Future profit priorities will be: upstream, providers with scenario design, multi‑robot coordination, and human–machine interaction content capabilities to capture premiums via differentiated delivery; downstream, data operation that uses equipment performance data to optimize maintenance, feed R&D, and create a positive cycle of service–data–iteration–value addition.
Part of the views in this article were published in China City News (People's Daily): "At Thousands of Yuan per Day, in Diverse Scenarios: Robots 'Lease' Their Way into New Fields"
China City News Report: Zheng Xinyu
About CIC
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