Shangwei New Materials has opened public pre-orders for two consumer humanoid robots - the 0.8-metre force-controlled Qiyuan Q1 and the transformable Qiyuan T1 - through its PrimeBOT brand, with the first batch of deliveries scheduled for September 2026. Reservations opened August 23 across the Shangwei Qiyuan mini-program, Tmall, Douyin and Bilibili official stores, plus offline experience events.
Two robots for a home market
The Q1 Explorer is an open, DIY-customisable full-body force-controlled humanoid that stands roughly 0.8 metres tall and is marketed as the first personal humanoid robot of 2026. Users can customise both the character skin and the software stack. The Qiyuan T1, unveiled by PrimeBOT earlier this year, is described as the world's first personal robot that autonomously transforms between a wheeled biped humanoid and a four-legged quadruped, aimed at cosplayers and content creators as a follow-camera companion.
An AgiBOT-backed joint venture
PrimeBOT is a joint venture between Shangwei New Materials, a Chinese carbon-composite materials group, and humanoid platform company AgiBOT, aiming to package embodied AI research into affordable consumer form factors. The Qiyuan Q1 was originally unveiled at CES 2026 as a full-body force-controlled small humanoid and exhibited at WAIC 2026 in Shanghai; the Q1's industrial design later won a Gold Award at the Italian A' Design Awards. PrimeBOT's stated ambition is to build direct-to-consumer distribution rather than rely on lab or industrial channels.
China's consumer humanoid market keeps expanding
The launch adds a fresh consumer entrant alongside UBTech's UWORLD U1 series and Pudu's D7 semi-humanoid. Chinese manufacturers shipped more than 18,500 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, over 97% of global volumes, according to industry trackers - a wave that PrimeBOT is targeting with lower price points and open customisation.
Reporting based on coverage from Yicai, Wall Street CN and Embodied AI Frontier.