BYD's first humanoid robot appears in a design patent published by China's patent office

China's National Intellectual Property Administration published a design patent on 9 October that names the Chinese carmaker BYD as the holder, CnEVPost reports. The design shows a two-legged robot with human proportions, with jointed shoulders, elbows, hips and knees; CnEVPost places it in the category of embodied intelligent robots.

CnEVPost is careful about what a design patent shows. It says the patent does not establish the robot's performance or progress toward mass production, and that as of 9 October BYD had yet to formally unveil the product. CarNewsChina, reporting on 10 October, links the design to “Xiao Di”, a robot BYD has teased before, and says the company has not officially confirmed whether the patent corresponds to the final production model.

CarNewsChina repeats specifications from BYD's earlier disclosures about Xiao Di: 1.61 metres tall, 58.5 kilograms and 31 degrees of freedom. Those figures come from those earlier disclosures, not from the patent. The two outlets describe the head differently, and the patent record itself, with its number, was not opened here.

BYD made no comment on the patent. A carmaker brings factories, supply chains and dealer networks to humanoid robots, which is why a carmaker's humanoid design is worth watching even before an unveiling.

• Reported CnEVPost reports China's patent office published the design patent on 9 October, naming BYD as holder, and that BYD has yet to formally unveil the product. CnEVPost
• Reported CarNewsChina reports BYD has not officially confirmed whether the patent corresponds to the final production model of Xiao Di. CarNewsChina