--- title: "Robotics Company Builds Straight-Up Terminator" description: "Electric vehicle company XPeng has released a video of its \"Iron\" robot without skin, and the results are pretty disturbing." date: "2025-11-09" modified: "2025-11-09" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/robot-xpeng-terminator" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" --- # Robotics Company Builds Straight-Up Terminator ![Electric vehicle company XPeng has released a video of its "Iron" robot without skin, and the results are pretty disturbing.]() *XRoboHub via YouTube* Automation is getting a little out of control these days. Recent advances in the world of robotics have unleashed [autonomous bodegas](), [sock-puppet style robo-servants](), and even [AI-powered dinosaurs](). For the most part, robotics developers have kept their projects on the lighter side, even if they occasionally creep us out. But that might be changing thanks to the Chinese automotive company XPeng, which just released a clip showcasing its "Iron" humanoid robot. The clip, which circulated on [social media](), show a robotic exoskeleton strapped to a harness walking in a straight line. While XPeng's Iron units are usually clad in a sleek white skin, this one is totally nude — and it looks like [something straight out]() of the post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout, or like the [titular antagonists]() from the "Terminator" franchise. https://youtu.be/Jdh9cnBDQe0?si=-5DC2Vql5hBhFAfk The bot also cleans up nicely. During an event this week, the company showed it off dressed in a cloth bodysuit that gave it a distinctly feminine profile. Iron's gait was so impressive that some observers wondered if it was a human inside a suit — a con [Elon Musk once pulled]() — but XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng put that suggestion to rest when he [unzipped the outfit, showing the robot inside](). https://twitter.com/TheHumanoidHub/status/1986482482460725755 The bot displayed some pretty slick motion, swaying its hips as it walks. "We're at a point now where robots can move more sensually than Taylor Swift," one [Redditor commented](). "I am kind of blown away that they can get motors to work in such an elegant way. I assumed it was soft body mechanics," [wrote another](). "Wow." Iron made its first debut on Wednesday, when XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng introduced the unit as the "most human-like" bot on the market to date. [Per *Humanoids Daily*](), the robot features "dexterous hands" with 22 degrees of flexibility, a "human-like spine," gender options, and a digital face. According to He, the bot also contains the "first all-solid-state battery in the industry," as opposed to the liquid electrolyte typically found in [lithium-ion batteries](). Solid-state batteries are considered the "holy grail" for [electric vehicle development](), a design choice He says will make the robots safer for home use. **More on robots:** *[Neuralink Head of Surgery Says Robot-Human Interface Happening “Very Soon”]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()