AI creates affordable consumer hardware

At a technology bazaar in Longfusi, a Beijing cultural landmark dating back nearly 600 years and once home to one of the city's most important temple fairs, a compact camping cart rolled quietly and independently through the crowd, keeping a steady distance from its user and steering around people in its path.

Zhang Lei, a local camping enthusiast, was impressed enough to place an order on the spot. At less than 2,000 yuan ($294), the model he chose is priced lower than a typical midrange smartphone.

"Pulling a cart loaded with tents and cooking gear for several kilometers used to be exhausting," Zhang said.

"This one follows you and automatically avoids obstacles, leaving your hands free. It works even better than I expected, and the price is affordable."

This purchase captures a broader shift in China's artificial intelligence consumer market. After becoming familiar to many users via products such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, AI is increasingly taking physical forms, as Chinese companies embed mature capabilities into products designed for everyday use.

At the bazaar, more than 300 AI products from more than 40 companies were available as consumer goods with clear price tags, rather than displayed merely as conceptual prototypes.

A few meters from the camping cart, an elderly visitor wearing a lightweight exoskeleton tried walking and jogging under the guidance of a staff member.

Nearby, meanwhile, an emotion-aware plush toy interacted with people through voice and touch, offering a brief form of companionship.

What stood out was not necessarily technological novelty, but commercial viability: visual recognition, sensor-based control and voice interaction were being turned into physical products that ordinary consumers can readily purchase.

Exoskeletons offer one of the clearest examples. Once largely confined to military and medical rehabilitation uses, with some costing hundreds of thousands of yuan, consumer exoskeletons in China now typically sell for between 6,000 and 20,000 yuan.

Beijing-based outdoor company Toread launched a consumer-grade exoskeleton priced at roughly 7,000 yuan in June. Inquiries and purchases have continued to rise, with sales on a single platform topping 100 units in one day, according to the company.

Rental services are lowering the barrier further. A park in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, offers exoskeleton experiences for 9.9 yuan an hour, while rentals have also been introduced at scenic spots elsewhere in China including the Great Wall and Huangshan Mountain.

Across the emerging rental market, a common rate is approximately 80 yuan for three hours.

AI products are also reaching consumers through a widening range of retail channels. AI glasses and translation earphones have become routine merchandise at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Zhejiang, while robotics experience stores have opened in cities across China.

Behind the falling prices is China's robust manufacturing ecosystem. Its AI hardware sector draws on domestic supply chains spanning acoustics, optics, batteries, molds and final assembly. This allows companies to refine products faster, keep costs down and move new AI hardware concepts into mass production more quickly.

Scale may also help. China's population of 1.4 billion and more than 1 billion internet users provide a large and varied consumer base in which different types of AI hardware can find distinct applications. Exoskeletons are finding uses in hiking, rehabilitation and elderly care, while emotion-aware toys are useful for child companionship and psychological comfort, and automatic-following devices are handy in camping, logistics and short-distance transport.

XINHUA-CHINA DAILY