Physical AI (Flying systems, Robotaxis, and Robots) by Chinese EV maker XPENG

What is Physical AI?

When the digital and physical worlds unite, that is what Physical AI.

Examples are operating systems (large models) and intelligent hardware.

They say we are entering Physical AI bubble.

 

He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPENG, says that large models will become the operating system and foundation of all Physical AI worlds and Physical applications.  Wait What? Read my articles for more on this..

 

The three takeaways on AI Day there were:

1.      XPENG Next-Gen Robot IRON

2.      XPENG also announced VLA 2.0 and XPENG Robotaxi.

3.      Flying systems from ARIDGE and A868

 

I.                    IRON

Robot IRON features a humanoid spine and bionic muscles that support customization for various body types.

They call IRON to have reached utter “anthropomorphism”.

IRON ensures the privacy component.

When the XPENG’s robot was launched, people thought it was fake.

People thought there was a real woman in it.

The way it moves its fingers still appears to be remotely controlled, similar to some of the Neo company robots that have access to this feature (Neo does it for learning and personalization).

The company says the robot has a “Skeleton muscle skin bionic system”. 

The company even opened up the robot to show that it is a real robot.

Regarding the mass production of iron, the software-led hardware lacks sufficient supply chains, and it may take until the end of 2026 to achieve this.

XPENG is open to developing IRON with global collaborations.

 

 

II.                  VLA and Robotaxis

XPENG also announced VLA 2.0 and XPENG Robotaxi.

 

The XPENG VLA 2.0 large model was also released, marking the transition from visual signals to action commands. This was XPENG’s first physical large-scale model and was applied to any Physical AI application of XPENG, such as flying cars, robotaxis, or robots.

According to the source, the XPENG VLA 2.0 doesn’t require annotations in real-world driving applications. Fully automated? Wait a moment!

By the end of January 2026, XPENG VLA would be available to customers in some XPENG models.

VLA would be open-sourced to facilitate collaboration with major players. 

Volkswagen has already become a customer of XPENG VLA 2.0.

Upcoming 3 robotaxi models in Jan 2026.

XPENG Robotaxi’s first global ecosystem partner shall be Amap, where XPENG would allow the use of its SDK.

 

III.                Flying cars and ARIDGE

Three-dimensional travel with  XPENG ARIDGE  “Land Aircraft Carrier” for single user and short travel, which has been ordered for 7000 units already.

Flying car “A868” for multi-user long travel usage.   A868 can cover 500 km and attain an expected speed of 360 km/hr and is a 6-seater vehicle. Its first model is already being released and is said to have aviation-grade quality standardizations. 

Is all this safe? Stay updated on my writings.

Plans to apply it to Chinese tourism. 

 

XPENG acknowledged that additional work is needed in some of its products and has begun addressing this issue.

The company’s EV models include the X9, G9, G6, and P7. 

XPENG also has offices in Silicon Valley and Amsterdam.

 

Thank you for reading.

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