Robot Kindergarten Opens in Beijing, Backed by Turing Award Winner's Team

In September 2026, TaShan Technology and Openmind, the team led by 2024 Turing Award winner Richard Sutton, jointly launched a "Robot Kindergarten" at Shougang Park in Beijing's Shijingshan District. The facility includes testing, learning, and interaction zones, designed to let robots learn through trial and error in real-world environments.

On the opening day, robots from Unitree and other companies entered the facility. Unlike conventional embodied intelligence training centers that rely on human demonstration data, this kindergarten encourages robots to learn through perception, action, feedback, and reflection, gradually forming their own intelligence.

TaShan Technology's vice president of R&D, Hou Guangdong, said the first phase focuses on reducing robot damage and enabling long-term interaction with the environment, including autonomous charging. Future phases will introduce more complex algorithms to help robots distinguish themselves from the external world and achieve multi-agent collaboration.

Tactile sensing is a key focus. All enrolled robots are equipped with TaShan's tactile electronic skin, allowing safe exploration in physical settings. During the opening, Openmind senior researcher Chris and Hou released the first batch of collaborative research topics, covering seven directions including tactile and pain perception mechanisms.