Indomaret and Alfamart Staff Could Become Obsolete as Humanoid Robots Emerge in China
Jakarta — Several human jobs face the threat of extinction with the development of advanced technology, particularly in the artificial intelligence era. In the United States, e-commerce giant Amazon has already utilised robots in warehouse facilities to perform various tasks.
Meanwhile, China has established a robot training centre in Wuhan that trains robots to perform tasks such as making coffee and everyday household chores.
Recently, reports also indicated that a Chinese startup has opened a convenience store operated by robots. This innovation could threaten the existence of convenience store employees, such as workers at Indomaret and Alfamart in Indonesia.
Galbot, a company operating in the robotics industry, opened a kiosk in Beijing in August 2025 operated by humanoid robots. The company calls this kiosk the “first store operated by autonomous humanoids.”
The humanoid used is the Galbot G-1, a dual-armed robot that Galbot launched in June 2024. The robot can move around the kiosk to retrieve items and hand them to customers, like a human employee.
“The Galbot G-1 robot manages everything, serving thousands of customers daily. From greeting, serving drinks, snacks, and medicine. Galbot handles every order without remote control, powered by GroceryVLA and GraspVLA,” the company stated.
However, the Galbot G-1’s movements still tend to be slow. Its function is not substantially different from a vending machine.
Galbot has stated that similar kiosks will open throughout China. Most recently, Galbot opened a kiosk at a busy location in Beijing, the Summer Palace.
Galbot CEO Wen Airong revealed ambitions to open 100 stores in 10 cities across China by 2026. To achieve this ambition, he and his team must overcome two challenges: creating more “natural” interaction and increasing operational speed.
According to Futurism, robot developers are struggling to create voice sensor systems that function smoothly in the real world due to changes in sound volume and accent differences.
Movement challenges also remain a principal obstacle, particularly in creating bipedal robots. To date, according to Futurism, there is no standardised design for robot movement using legs.