Robot Trainer Role Emerges as New Trend in China, Tasks Include Teaching Coffee Making and Cooking

Jakarta, VIVA – The development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has given rise to a new profession previously sounding like a scene from science fiction. In China, young people are now working as ‘tutors’ for humanoid robots to perform daily tasks such as making coffee, delivering items, and working in kitchens.

This phenomenon has emerged alongside the rapid growth of the humanoid robot industry in the country. Training centres for robots are springing up to prepare them to work alongside humans in real-world environments.

One example is Chen Wenhai, a 23-year-old robot trainer at the Hubei Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre. Daily, he wears VR headsets and motion-capture suits to teach movements to a humanoid robot nearly his height. When Chen raises his hand, the robot mirrors the motion synchronously; when he clenches his fist, the robot’s five fingers close. Beyond that, the robot can grind coffee beans, lift cups, pour hot water precisely, and produce an Americano.

Such activities are now routine at the training centre, which is one of China’s largest humanoid robot training platforms with over 20 real-world simulation environments, including hospitals, supermarkets, kitchens, and offices. There, humans and robots work one-on-one to train basic skills like walking, gripping objects, and delivering items. ‘There is no ready-made manual for training robots,’ Chen said, citing Xinhua Net on Sunday, 24 May 2026.

Chen revealed that out of an eight-hour workday, only about 3.5 hours of data is actually usable, with the rest spent correcting robot movements and repeating exercises. Even simple gestures sometimes require hundreds or thousands of repetitions for the robot to perform correctly. According to Zhou Mengkun, an engineer at Hubei Optics Valley Dongzhi Embodied Intelligence Technology, the role of robot trainers is crucial in bridging technology with real-world needs.