Published : 30/01/2026
In 2025, embodied intelligence was written into the Government Work Report for the first time. With the development of intelligent robots and artificial intelligence, we increasingly hear the term "embodied intelligence". What exactly is "embodied intelligence"? What is its relationship with intelligent robots and artificial intelligence?
Embodied intelligence (Embodied Artificial Intelligence, or EAI) is a cutting-edge topic in the fields of artificial intelligence and intelligent robots. The father of computer science, Alan Turing, first proposed the concept of embodied intelligence in 1950, emphasizing that intelligence must have a physical entity (a body) that interacts with, perceives, and learn from its surrounding environment in real time.
To understand embodied intelligence, a simple way is to compare it with what we are familiar with: "disembodied intelligence". AI tools such as Deepseek, Doubao, and ChatGPT, accessible via simply by opening your mobile phone, are examples of "disembodied intelligence".
Disembodied intelligence are intelligences without a physical entity. They can process large amounts of data such as text and images, and can chat with users and output information, but it cannot directly interact with the physical world.
In contrast, embodied intelligence, provides artificial intelligence with a "physical body". It not only possesses a "brain" that can think, but can also interact with the environment in the real world. In this process, it can also continuously learn and evolve autonomously. The primary product form of embodied intelligence is intelligent robots, for example, the humanoid robot, service robots, industrial robots, etc.
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