FCC bars new Chinese humanoid robots after confirmed backdoors found in university labs

The Federal Communications Commission has blocked new Chinese-made humanoid and quadruped robots from the U.S. market, placing them on the agency's Covered List — a designation that bars foreign equipment from receiving the FCC authorization required to import, market, or sell wireless devices in the United States. The ruling, announced Tuesday July 28, also covers connected power inverters used in renewable energy systems, battery storage, and data centers.

The move follows the discovery of a critical, unpatched vulnerability in Unitree hardware already deployed on American university campuses. The flaw, dubbed UniPwn, is a Bluetooth Low Energy exploit that grants root-level access to Unitree's Go2 and B2 quadrupeds and G1 and H1 humanoids — and it's wormable, meaning an infected robot can scan for nearby Unitree units and compromise them automatically, without any user interaction. No firmware patch has been issued.

University Deployments Already Affected

The FCC cited documented backdoors in Unitree hardware at MIT, Princeton, and Carnegie Mellon, three of the most prominent U.S. robotics research institutions. The agency assembled an interagency national security panel under White House direction before issuing the ruling, underscoring how seriously the federal government views the exposure.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr framed the action as part of the Trump administration's broader supply chain security push: "Following President Trump's leadership, the FCC will continue to do our part to secure America's critical supply chains."

The Scale of Chinese Dominance

The stakes are significant. Chinese companies currently ship roughly 87% of global humanoid robot units, with six of the top ten manufacturers based in China. Agibot leads with 5,168 shipped units, followed by Unitree at 4,200 and UBTech at 1,000. Unitree had just launched commercially in Europe on July 22 — the first Chinese-made humanoid to enter Western commercial markets — when the ban was announced.

The ban applies only to new device models. Products that already hold FCC authorization can continue to be sold in the U.S., giving existing operators a reprieve while cutting off any future expansion. The federal government is explicitly exempt and may continue purchasing these systems for defense and research.

Power Inverters in the Crosshairs Too

The inclusion of power inverters is a separate but equally significant piece of the ruling. The FCC noted that inverters' remote connectivity creates attack surfaces that could let foreign operators turn devices off, or silently collect and exfiltrate data from renewable energy infrastructure and data centers — a particular concern given the aggressive U.S. AI buildout underway.

Manufacturers seeking an exception can apply for Conditional Approval through the Department of War (for robots) or the Department of Homeland Security (for inverters).

A Boost for the U.S. Robotics Industry

The decision hands a structural advantage to approximately 180 U.S. robotics startups that together have raised around $150 billion in total funding. Critics argue it may slow innovation by reducing competitive pressure on American manufacturers, but the administration's position is that the national security risk outweighs the market efficiency cost — especially with an unpatched, self-spreading exploit actively deployed on elite U.S. campuses.

As reported by Forbes, the ruling went into effect immediately upon publication, with no transition period for affected manufacturers.