"Make in Vietnam" Robots: Global Debut, Dream of Shaping the Future

(Dan Tri) - A short video clip of a humanoid robot bearing the Vingroup Corporation logo has stirred up the online community. It is not just a simple technology product but a surprising "greeting" from Vietnam.

Humanoid robots have long been a playground for tech giants. Now, Vietnam is officially entering the race in this field.

Reaching the world

Recently, a video went viral on social media showing a humanoid robot moving on two legs, with flexible arms waving. The most noticeable feature is the Vingroup Corporation logo and the words "VinMotion" on its chest.

This has raised hopes in the social network community for a breakthrough "Make in Vietnam" product.

Leaving no room for public speculation, VinMotion (a member company of Vingroup) has officially confirmed and shared its vision.

According to VinMotion Chairman Nguyen Trung Quan, this is not just a pilot project but the beginning of a long-term strategy, with the ambition of bringing "Make in Vietnam" robots to the world market.

This has turned the initial pride into a great expectation of Vietnam's new position on the high-tech map.

“Our humanoid robot is 100% “Make in Vietnam”, the result of the design, manufacturing and development process from hardware to software by VinMotion's engineering team.

Although we have only been established for a few months, we have deployed and continuously improved 5 versions. The entire process from idea to finished product is carried out by the VinMotion team", shared the Chairman of VinMotion.

Revealing a video of Vingroup's robot simulating humans.

Looking at reality, we have to admit that Vietnam is entering a difficult playing field, where the “giants” have been ahead for many years. But we absolutely have hope to break through.

Race of the Giants

Globally, the humanoid robot race is hotter than ever.

In the US, the brightest "star" is the robot Optimus, researched and developed by Tesla, under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk.

Not only does it amaze with its smooth dance moves, it also promises to replace humans in boring tasks, from housework like cooking and gardening to complex factory jobs.

Now this product can perform extremely impressive dances. From ballet moves to modern dance, Optimus has proven its versatility.

The video shared by Tesla shows that the robot has excellent balance, and can even stand on one leg without losing balance.

Boss Elon Musk affirmed that this will be one of the most important innovations, capable of learning from the real world and becoming the main counterweight of the US to the rise of China.

Optimus robot shows off its battery sorting ability (Photo: ST).

Of course, China is not an inferior player. This country does not consider robots as a single product, but as a national strategy.

Faced with an aging population, the country of a billion people considers humanoid robots the golden key to solving the problem of labor shortage, especially in the field of elderly care.

The event of 21 robots participating in the half-marathon in Beijing, despite many problems, showed the country's great ambition and determination to lead the world in humanoid robots by 2027.

Besides, many other companies in China are researching, developing and upgrading generations of robots with significantly improved capabilities day and night.

Elon Musk's humanoid robot shows off its smooth dancing skills.

In the suburbs of Shanghai, for example, dozens of humanoid robots from the company AgiBot can now perform repetitive tasks like folding T-shirts, making sandwiches and opening doors.

It can be seen that in recent years, Chinese humanoid robots have made significant progress in agility, including the ability to do somersaults, run a half-marathon, and even play soccer.

Breakthroughs in the development of robot “brains” will enable these machines to transform from mere demonstration devices into self-learning and highly productive workers, potentially revolutionizing global manufacturing capacity.

The presence of Vietnam, although a "newbie", but with the support of a large economic-technological corporation like Vingroup, shows confidence and strategic vision.

According to the chairman of VinMotion, the current results of the “Make in Vietnam” humanoid robot are the sweet fruit of many years of accumulated experience of VinMotion's leadership team and leading experts.

In particular, VinMotion would hardly have the current products without the strong, comprehensive support from Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong and the Vingroup ecosystem.

Experts say that if a robot is considered a body, its "heart" and "brain" are generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI).

This is the factor that creates a quantum leap, transforming machines from merely executing pre-programmed commands into entities capable of operating autonomously.

They can learn from their environment, observe human actions, and reason on their own to solve problems they have never encountered before.

This AI brain is connected to a complex "nervous system" which is a network of sensors (cameras, LiDAR, force sensors...), providing deep spatial awareness.

Along with that is a superior "musculoskeletal system", allowing the robot to move flexibly on many terrains and perform delicate operations with skillful hands.

This synchronization opens a new era, where robots are not just tools, but "digital colleagues" living and working with us.

Obviously, for a country that is promoting industrialization and modernization like Vietnam, this potential is enormous.

In electronics assembly plants, textile factories, wood processing factories, humanoid robots can take on repetitive tasks that require endurance and high precision, freeing humans from boring and dangerous jobs.

In the booming logistics and e-commerce industries, they are the answer to the problem of warehousing and delivery optimization.

In particular, in the future, humanoid robots promise to replace humans in harsh working environments such as mining, handling incidents of hazardous substance leaks into the environment. At the same time, they can take care of the elderly or help with housework.

The sharp drop in the price of a robot product, from $250,000 (2022) to $150,000 (2023) and Tesla's ambitious target of $20,000, signal a tectonic shift.

China is making great strides in developing humanoid robots (Photo: ST).

With an estimated cost of ownership of just $5/hour, robots are on track to become a significantly more efficient and cost-effective labor solution than humans for many tasks.

This is both a golden opportunity to break through productivity and a challenge that requires a profound restructuring of the labor market in the near future.

Challenges for "Make in Vietnam" Robots

The launch of the VinMotion robot is a promising start, but the road ahead is still full of thorns. Building a humanoid robot is extremely complex, requiring a high level of precision mechanics, electronics and especially AI software.

Vietnam will have to compete with Silicon Valley (USA), which has absolute strength in AI, or with China - a country with an extremely impressive hardware foundation and development speed.

In addition, to be able to compete on price, Vietnam needs to build a complete supply chain and achieve large-scale production. This is a difficult problem when competitors like Tesla already have their own huge production ecosystem.

Like other developers, humanoid robots will face thorny ethical questions such as personal privacy when robots collect data, the risk of bias in AI algorithms, and physical safety threats if machines malfunction.

However, Vietnam’s entry into this field is of great significance. It not only promotes the domestic high-tech industry and attracts talent, but also affirms the Vietnamese people’s aspiration and ability to master the most complex technologies.

The emergence of "Make in Vietnam" robots should not be seen as a destination, but as the starting point of a long journey.

With the ambition to reach out to the world, this will be a challenging journey, requiring strategic investment, persistent research and development. But this first "greeting" has shown that Vietnam is not standing outside the game, but is ready to become a part of the global technological future.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/robot-make-in-vietnam-cu-chao-san-toan-cau-giac-mo-dinh-hinh-tuong-lai-20250610090143366.htm