The international race of robots
When Li Mingming and Gong Meng, founders of SpaceH, decided to build a robot in October 2013, they wanted to do something to help their families.
The two young men were working in Shenzhen, thousands of kilometers away from their respective hometowns. Li wanted to keep in constant touch with his grandfather, who, in his 80s, was living in Nanchang, Jiangxi province.
"My grandfather is not well and we hire a nurse to look after him for eight hours a day. I am so far away from him and I want to keep informed about his latest condition. But he cannot even use the phone. So I want to build a robot that can tell me how he is doing and can let me see and talk to him whenever I want," the 30-year-old Li says. What's more, "the robot can also keep him company and keep an eye on him".
Gong also wanted his parents in Shandong province, who are suffering from chronic diseases, to have a companion at home to remind them taking medicines on time and to check on their own health.
In the 2014 animation film Big Hero 6, the white inflatable robot Baymax impressed audiences with its cute huggable look and ability to scan people's bodies to get their physical and psychological status and to offer useful advice.
At the end of 2014, SpaceH built its first robot named Xiaohei (little black) - a play on Dabai (big white), Baymax's Chinese name.
Xiaohei can recognize its surroundings, and use sign language and follow simple verbal orders, such as "come" and "go". Keeping its distance, it can follow the "nursing object" and bypass objects that are in its way.
"The initial Xiaohei is designed for children, partly for entertainment. The upgraded edition will be more suitable for caring for elderly people and people with chronic diseases," Li says. "In addition to the robotic terminal, we will a build a cloud service platform for remote nursing and medical treatment."
As the factory of the world, the mainland has seen the development of its manufacturing reach a stage where development and wide use of automation technology is critical to future development. Since 2013, the mainland has become the world's largest robot market.
Zhu Shiqiang, director of Robotics Research Center at Zhejiang University, says the market value of robots in China will reach 100 billion yuan ($16.1 billion) in the future.
With such a large market potential, robot companies are sprouting like bamboo shoots in the spring across the whole country. SpaceH is one of 400 companies that were registered in 2014, but globally there are fewer than 10 major robot companies.
Four new robotics projects valued at 1.26 billion yuan started construction in Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area last Friday, contributing to further development of the robotics industrial cluster in the area.
The four projects are the Chongqing branch of the National Robot Test and Assessment Center, Chongqing Liangjiang Robotics Application Center (Institute), Kawasaki Robot System Integration and Manufacture Base and Liangjiang Robotics Incubator Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Upon their completion, the annual output is expected to reach 4.5 billion yuan.
Despite these developments, experts have said it has been a season of disappointment for domestic firms as they continue to lag overseas manufacturers in the innovation race.
With several industries such as manufacturing, logistics and telecommunications turning to robotics, aspects like the right technology and innovation can often make the difference between success and failure.
"The industrial robot in China is at least a decade behind the West," said Wang Tianmiao, head of the robotic research institute at the Beijing-based Beihang University.
German and Japanese companies already have a head start over others, while companies from the US are fast catching up with their innovative strides, Wang said.
"The low levels of robot development and the manufacture of key components used in robots, such as decelerators and motors, are hampering growth of 'made-in-China' industrial robots," he said.
More than three quarters of the industrial robots sold in China were made by overseas brands in 2013, said a report published by the China Robot Industry Alliance.
According to experts, domestic robot makers will have a bigger say in the market in future as overseas companies, which usually focus on high-end customers, including auto-makers, will not be able to cater to the growing demand from other sectors.
Experts say that to compete with these industrial leaders, Chinese companies should pay more attention to innovation and diversified competition.
In terms of robotic science and technology, China has made progress in many areas.
In July 2014, the robot team from Zhejiang University beat Carnegie Mellon University at the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association Cup, and defended the championship.
Zhejiang University's Zhu says mainland's robot manufacturers have yet to master the skill of producing the core parts of industrial robots, such as joint reducers and sensors.
"Even if we can produce industrial robots on our own, their reliability is not as good as those by international leading companies," Zhu says.
Zhu says if China wants to develop robotics as an industry, more attention must be paid to the research and development of products, such as technology and practicality, and not only pure scientific research.
Gao Yuan in Beijing contributed to the story.
yangyang@chinadaily.com.cn
(HK Edition 06/25/2015 page9)
