Humanoid robot station air vent
2024-06-19
Previously, new technologies, products, and formats represented by humanoid robots have rapidly developed, becoming a high ground for global technological innovation, a new track for future industries, and a new engine for economic growth. What is the current development status of China's humanoid robot industry? Is the application scenario mature? How will we break through bottlenecks and thrive in the future? The latest report released by CCID Consulting shows that the humanoid robot industry will enter an explosive period in 2023, and it is expected that the scale of China's humanoid robot industry will exceed 20 billion yuan by 2026. In the future, functional complete machines will gradually occupy the mainstream and have huge development potential. Humanoid robots are a clear future industry landmark product in China. In October last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots", proposing to establish a preliminary innovation system for humanoid robots by 2025; By 2027, the comprehensive strength will reach the world's advanced level and become an important new engine of economic growth. At present, humanoid robots are in a critical period of transition from laboratory research and development to industrialization. The industry scale is growing rapidly, research and innovation are becoming more active, and ecological vitality is constantly improving. Layout the future track and smoothly complete various instructions, interacting and communicating with the audience through eyes. At the recently held 2024 China Humanoid Robot Ecological Conference, a dazzling array of humanoid robots lived up to the expectations of the participating audience. The partition display of multiple core components such as simulated robotic arms, intelligent flexible joints, and machine eyes has unlocked the construction password of humanoid robots. The scenes from science fiction movies have finally entered reality. The emergence of large models is a watershed in the development of artificial intelligence, and humanoid robots with abilities such as perception, thinking, and decision-making are no longer unattainable. Faced with a new track, the global competition in the humanoid robot industry is accelerating. On March 13th, the Open Artificial Intelligence Research Center (OpenAI) in the United States collaborated with Figure AI to launch a universal robot, Figure 01; Within a week, Nvidia, a leading global AI computing power company, released Project GR00T, a universal basic model for humanoid robots; In April, Boston Power's new Atlas humanoid robot was unveiled, officially transitioning to pure electric drive; On May 5th, Tesla released the latest progress video of the humanoid robot Optimus, demonstrating its ability to sort batteries, walk, and perform factory tasks. "Giants entering the competition and startups emerging, humanoid robots are entering a period of rapid development in the industry." The person in charge of the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told reporters that humanoid robots, which integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, high-end manufacturing, and new materials, are expected to become disruptive products after computers, smartphones, and new energy vehicles. They will profoundly change the way humans produce and live, and reshape the global industrial development pattern. "Hello, nice to meet you." Entering the laboratory of Data Robotics Co., Ltd., the crisp greeting of the humanoid robot Ginger came through. After several interactions, Ginger danced to the music with flexible joints and natural and soft movements, changing the journalist's impression of robots as rigid and rigid. The intelligent flexible joints placed in the nearby display area reveal Ginger's secret to movement. "The humanoid robots bring about a productivity revolution." Chen Yuan, Vice President of Data Robotics Co., Ltd., said that for many years, almost everyone engaged in the robotics industry has dreamed of creating service robots that can enter thousands of households and completely replace humans. The progress of embodied intelligence technology has made years of hope possible. Brewing a cup of coffee, easily lifting a bottle, performing a dance, humanoid robots have more flexible movements and agile reactions, which will liberate the constraints on labor in fields with high repetition, high danger, and strong companionship, bringing more changes to human life. In the fiercely competitive market environment, China's humanoid robot industry is also showing a vigorous development trend. A batch of domestic humanoid robots such as Ubisoft Walker, Xiaomi CyberOne, Data Ginger, and Fourier GR-1 have been launched one after another. According to the Future Industry Research Center of CCID Think Tank, the domestic humanoid robot industry is currently presenting four major patterns. One is the start-up companies represented by Youbixuan, Fourier, Zhiyuan, etc., which have accumulated technology in humanoid robot joint servo, motion control, etc., and have launched practical products such as elderly and disability assistance, companion robots, etc. according to market demand. The second is to focus on industrial chain integration, such as traditional robot enterprises represented by Data, Yuejiang, DJI, etc., which have accumulated years of experience in this field and have a first mover advantage. Third, Xiaomi, Ali and other Internet giants have accumulated some technology in human-computer interaction, AI, Internet of Things and other aspects. The fourth is technology manufacturing giants such as Huawei and BYD, which have strong technological and financial strength and rich experience in cloud computing, intelligent manufacturing, and other fields. According to Zhao Gang, President of CCID Industry Research Institute, thanks to China's strong supply chain system and relatively complete manufacturing foundation, Chinese humanoid robot enterprises have made breakthroughs in multiple key technology fields, with a leading global number of related technology patent applications. Some products have already been applied and demonstrated in industrial manufacturing, life services, education and entertainment, special operations and other fields. When humanoid robot products meet the conditions for mass production, they can quickly form mass production capabilities. On December 29, 2023, a flexible humanoid robot walked steadily towards the center of the bell ringing stage of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. With the sound of the hammer, the "first stock" of domestic humanoid robots was born, and Shenzhen Youbixuan Technology Co., Ltd. officially opened the door to the market. On May 31, 2024, Dongfeng Liuqi and Ubisoft signed a cooperation agreement. Ubisoft's industrial version of the humanoid robot Walker S will enter Dongfeng Liuqi to carry out a series of work in the automotive manufacturing process, including seat belt inspection, door lock inspection, headlight cover plate inspection, body quality inspection station, rear cover inspection, interior inspection, and oil filling. In the past year, General Artificial Intelligence represented by ChatGPT has launched a new round of technological innovation, and the humanoid robot race has become a new favorite in the capital market. IDG、 Sequoia and other venture capitalists have shown active performance, with technology giants such as Tesla, Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi joining in one after another. According to data compiled by the Future Industry Research Center of CCID Think Tank, as of the end of November last year, the investment amount in China's humanoid robot industry has exceeded 80 billion yuan. "From the perspective of market space, humanoid robots are expected to form a trillion level market scale." In Zhao Gang's view, humanoid robots are the first iconic product of future industrial innovation, an important carrier of cutting-edge technological innovation, a key equipment for future industrial coordinated development, and a future explosive product with huge market potential. High level technological innovation leads the upgrading of the manufacturing industry. Zhao Gang analyzed that humanoid robots, as a highly integrated intelligent cutting-edge technological innovation carrier, include the research and application of multiple cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence large models, six dimensional force sensing, high torque density servo motors, high dynamic motion planning and control, biomimetic perception and cognition, intelligent dexterous hands, and electronic skin. A series of breakthroughs in key core technologies will directly promote the innovative development of related disciplines, injecting sustained momentum into the high-end and intelligent development of the humanoid robot industry. Linking upstream and downstream to create future industrial clusters. Humanoid robots involve numerous industries and have strong driving capabilities in the industrial chain. For example, its external structure requires new materials; Action control requires collaborative cooperation among sensors, motors, robotic arms, reducers, automatic control systems, LiDAR, and others; The perception system needs to be equipped with intelligent chips, intelligent brains, platform software, application apps, etc. The mass production of humanoid robots will bring more opportunities to the above-mentioned industries, forming a large-scale high-tech industrial cluster. The vast market demand endows humanoid robots with more possibilities. On the one hand, the high load and high fault tolerance of humanoid robots will further optimize the division of labor in society and alleviate the labor difficulties brought about by aging; On the other hand, beyond the industrial field, highly intelligent humanoid robots can be applied in various fields such as medical rehabilitation, educational counseling, and home services, becoming powerful assistants for people in work, study, and life. Zhang Weimin, Senior Business Director of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence at the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology, stated that with the empowerment of artificial intelligence technology, the performance of the core components of humanoid robots is continuously optimized, and the design and manufacturing of the entire machine are realized on a large scale. In the future, the entire industry is expected to accelerate the application of small-scale structured scenarios, and transition to a wider range of semi open application scenarios such as industry and public services in the medium and long term, ultimately achieving universal application in all scenarios. At that time, its market size may be on par with the current electric vehicle industry. A set of data highlights the expectations of the outside world for the humanoid robot industry. According to the GGII, the global market size of humanoid robots is expected to exceed 20 billion US dollars by 2030; International investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts that by 2035, the market size of humanoid robots may reach $154 billion. Several industry insiders have pointed out that the humanoid robot industry will maintain high-speed growth in the next 10 to 20 years, becoming an important engine leading a new round of technological revolution and future industrial transformation. Exploring application scenarios: "We not only need to look up at the stars and the sea, but also look down at the yellow soil under our feet." This is a first-line research experience from Zhong Xinlong, director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory at the Future Industry Research Center of CCID Think Tank. In recent days, Zhong Xinlong has been traveling to multiple domestic humanoid robot companies to understand the pain points of the current industry development. Throughout the development history of humanoid robots, in 1973, the world's first humanoid robot was introduced. Despite its rugged and inflexible appearance at that time, humanoid robots broke through the barriers of the digital world with a new form, completing a leap into the physical world. Subsequently, technologies such as deep learning, perception systems, and interaction capabilities continued to advance, and humanoid robots gradually became intelligent, with continuous improvements in their motion, perception, and interaction abilities. At present, humanoid robots have entered a new stage of commercialization, but due to the complex design and high cost of humanoid structures, the selling price of a humanoid robot, which often costs several million yuan, often discourages the consumer market. In Zhong Xinlong's view, whether a technology product can reach millions of households is mainly determined by two factors: first, whether it can achieve technological breakthroughs, and second, whether it can form an industrial scale. The former is the foundation and prerequisite, determining whether it can be used and whether it is easy to use; The latter is crucial in the commercialization process, which involves controlling costs through various means, meeting market demand, and making more consumers pay. From a technical perspective, there is still significant room for improvement in the underlying technical principles and key core technologies of humanoid robots in China. Taking perceptual interaction as an example, how to endow robots with the ability to accurately perceive the surrounding environment in complex and dynamic environments, and efficiently understand human language expressions, emotional intentions, etc., remains a challenge to be overcome. In addition, the localization rate of core components such as reducers, servo motors, and controllers still needs to be improved. The Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots mention the need to break through key technologies, starting from building the "brain" and "cerebellum" of humanoid robots, breaking through key technologies of "limbs", and establishing a sound technological innovation system, in order to enhance the technological innovation capabilities of humanoid robots. Chen Yuan believes that, like humans, the joints determine the flexibility of robots. Every joint cannot do without computation, communication, and sensing. Intelligent flexible joints are the key to solving the problem of "excess rigidity and insufficient flexibility" in robots. Flexible joints and delicate controls