The world's first surrogate robot is expected to launch in 2026.

Chosun Biz reported on August 11 that the research team of Caiwa Robot Company is in the process of developing the world's first surrogate robot. This surrogate robot, designed in human form, equipped with an artificial uterus, is capable of carrying a pregnancy for 10 months and giving birth like a real person. Photo: ChosunBiz

The first prototype is expected to be launched in 2026, with a price of about 100,000 yuan (equivalent to 360 million VND). The core technology of this robot is an artificial womb, which fully simulates the process of nurturing a fetus in the mother's womb.

According to the Chinese science and technology news agency Kuai Ke Zhi, Dr. Zhang Qifeng - currently working at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) - is the main person in charge of this project. Dr. Zhang said the new robot is not simply an embryo incubator, but a humanoid biological system that can fully simulate the process from fertilization to labor and birth.

Inside the artificial womb, the embryos are nourished in amniotic fluid and supplied with nutrients through a system of tubes. Mr. Zhang shared that the technology has entered the final stage and now just needs to be integrated into the robot's abdominal cavity to begin testing the ability to conceive.

In addition, Mr. Zhang also said that the artificial womb model had achieved positive results in animal tests. According to the journal Nature Communications , in 2017, scientists at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (USA) successfully raised a premature lamb (equivalent to a 23-week human fetus) in a device called a "biobag" - a plastic bag containing artificial amniotic fluid. After four weeks, the lamb developed normally and grew hair.

However, according to Mr. Zhang, that device still only serves as an incubator for premature fetuses, while the robot he researched aims to recreate the entire pregnancy process from the beginning. However, he has not yet revealed specifically how fertilization and implantation of embryos into artificial wombs will be carried out.

As soon as the information was announced, the keyword "The world's first pregnant robot will be launched within a year" quickly entered the top search on the social networking platform Weibo. In addition, the video interview with the research team posted on the Douyin platform also attracted nearly 4,000 comments, reflecting strong interest from the public.

Many people have expressed deep concern about this research, saying that it is inhumane to let a child be born without any connection to the mother, and questioning the origin of the egg and sperm in this process.

However, many opinions are supportive. Many people think that if the price of the robot is only equivalent to half of the annual income, then owning this device is completely reasonable. Some people also think that this is a step to free women from the burden of pregnancy and childbirth.

In particular, many social media users believe that this is a new ray of hope for infertile couples. Some comments shared that they had failed after many artificial insemination attempts and hoped that this technology would bring the opportunity to become parents.

The main goal of the research, according to Professor Zhang, is to help tackle China’s population decline. While commercial surrogacy is currently illegal, he hopes the robot will open up options for people who have difficulty conceiving or who do not want to marry but still want to have children.

On legal and ethical aspects, the research team said it has held several exchanges with the Guangdong provincial government and has submitted policy proposals related to the technology.