Chongqing — In Jialingjiang Laboratory in Southwest China's Chongqing, engineers are training a humanoid robot to dance and perform kung fu, while next door, they are teaching cars to think like robots. This lab is emerging as a key test bed for China's next-generation intelligent equipment.
Located in Western (Chongqing) Science City and inaugurated in April 2025, the lab draws on the strengths of four divisions and 11 schools at Chongqing University, spanning information science, engineering, medicine, and science. The goal is to build China's first cluster of research platforms for digital-intelligent equipment centered on concept verification and R&D testing, covering areas from core digital infrastructure and key components to intelligent robots, connected new energy vehicles, and smart medical devices.
Inside the humanoid robot research center, researchers watch lines of code scroll across their screens as a life-sized robot flexes and pivots under their commands. Small software tweaks are immediately reflected in the motion of its joints.
A humanoid robot interacts with visitors. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)
"This is a service robot we are developing. Right now, we are validating its core algorithms, and it will be unveiled to the public soon," said Liu Duo, deputy director of Jialingjiang Laboratory and vice dean of the School of Big Data and Software Engineering at Chongqing University.
The team wants more than basic walking or simple gestures. Liu said they aim to turn the machine into a multi-skilled performer able to dance and demonstrate Chinese martial arts routines, pushing its control system to the limits of balance, coordination, and timing.
"These abilities depend heavily on the quality of the underlying algorithms," he said. "The core software is what allows the robot to move smoothly and stably, even when performing complex sequences." Researchers are also exploring human–robot collaboration and industrial applications to enable future humanoids to work alongside people on production lines.
A short walk away, another group is working on automotive robots. Intelligent connected new energy vehicles are one of the lab's priority areas, with engineers focused on vehicle–road–cloud integration — linking smart cars to roadside infrastructure and a centralized cloud platform.
In a simulated traffic scene, a small model car moves toward an intersection. As it approaches, the red light turns green at the right moment, allowing the vehicle to pass without braking. "Vehicle–road–cloud integration is like directing traffic from a global perspective," Liu said. A cloud-based brain collects data from roadside sensors, traffic lights, and vehicles, calculates an optimal speed, and sends guidance back to the car.
To be useful outside the lab, such systems must cope with some of China's most complex driving conditions. Chongqing's steep hills, stacked flyovers, long tunnels, and sharp turns are widely regarded by Chinese drivers as some of the toughest driving conditions in the country.
A driving simulator is on display for hands-on experience. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)
Liu said the lab is building a test-and-evaluation system tailored to mountainous terrain and tunnel-heavy routes, combining physical roads with virtual scenarios to reflect the city's geography.
By enriching test conditions, the platform is expected to shorten the path from research to validation for intelligent connected vehicles, helping companies cut costs and speed up iteration on new features.
The work on humanoid and automotive robots feeds into a broader plan to position Jialingjiang Laboratory as a hub for breakthroughs in intelligent systems. By bringing together innovation, industry, finance, and talent, Liu said, the lab aims to tackle long development cycles, slow cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the high cost of testing.
Looking ahead, he envisions an "AI + future lab" — an open, shared platform where AI-powered research tools, data, and facilities are accessible not only to in-house teams but also to partners. "Under the innovation model, we want the lab to be a place where tools, data, and facilities are shared," Liu said. "Researchers from different organizations can collaborate here and work together to push technologies toward real-world applications."