On 28 February 2026, the Annual Conference on Standardization for Humanoid Robots and Embodied Intelligence (HEIS) was held in Beijing. The conference was hosted by the National Technical Committee on Humanoid Robots and Embodied Intelligence of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT/TC08) as its debut. During the event, the Standards System for Humanoid Robots and Embodied Intelligence (2026 Edition) was officially released. This represents China’s first high-level standards framework covering the entire value chain and full lifecycle of humanoid robots and embodied intelligence.

The standards system was developed by MIIT/TC08, with the participation of more than 120 research institutes, enterprises, and industry users. It comprises six key areas: foundational and common standards, brain-inspired intelligence and intelligent computing, limbs and components, complete systems and integration, applications, and safety and ethics.

According to representatives of MIIT/TC08, the brain-inspired intelligence and intelligent computing standards cover key areas such as the large and small brain of embodied intelligence and intelligent computing. They also standardize the full lifecycle of data as well as the end-to-end processes of model training, inference, and deployment. Application standards define requirements for the development, operation, and maintenance of humanoid robots and embodied systems across different use cases. Safety and ethics standards run throughout the entire lifecycle of the industry, providing safeguards for safe and compliant technological development.

Mr. Sun Chuanxing, a senior engineer from the China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI) serves as Deputy Secretary-General, alongside with other experts acting as committee members. CESI experts have also been appointed as Co-Chairs of the Brain-Inspired Intelligence and Intelligent Computing Working Group, playing a leading role in advancing standardization in this field.

During the conference, MIIT/TC08 also launched an initiative to promote the high-quality development of the humanoid robot and embodied intelligence industry. Two cooperation proposals were released: the Initiative on Establishing an Identity Management Mechanism for Humanoid Robots and the Initiative on Ensuring the Safe Development of the Humanoid Robot and Embodied Intelligence Industry. In addition, an initial list of 52 standards was published to further guide industry development.

As the secretariat for SAC/SC42, SAC/TC609, and SAC/TC260, CESI is accelerating work on standards for humanoid robots and embodied intelligence. It has led or managed 12 national and sector standard projects and released the first version of the Embodied Intelligence Evaluation Benchmark (EIbench).

Moving forward, CESI and MIIT/TC08 will strengthen coordination among national and sector standardization committees and work with universities, research institutes, and industry stakeholders both in China and internationally to accelerate standard development and implementation, enhance testing and certification capabilities, and better align supply and demand for application scenarios. These efforts are aligned with China’s strategic position of standards as a guiding force to drive the high-quality development of the industry.

To learn more about MIIT/TC08 leadership structure and job scopes, please check out this SESEC article:

https://sesec.eu/miit-establishes-new-technical-committee-for-humanoid-robots-and-embodied-intelligence/

Key standards selected by TC28/SC42

Source:

1. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2rJq5FdbFhJxOmTJ7F8YQg
2. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Cqk15gMjwUqvl20higKNWw