Industrial robots are a hot topic in China now. Statistics from China Robot Network in 2014 China Industrial Robot in-depth research report show that the total sales of industrial robots in The Chinese market in 2013 increased by about 36% compared with 2012. China has not only become the world’s largest robot market, but also the fastest growing one
The report released by SaEDI Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also pointed out that under the pressure of policy support and labor costs, China’s robot industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 23% to 36% from 2012 to 2022, with a potential market size of 100 billion yuan.
In the context of The high-end transformation of China’s manufacturing industry, undertaking international advanced manufacturing and participating in international division of labor, industrial robots are also expected to become an important force to promote the transformation.
Giiso Information, founded in 2013, is a leading technology provider in the field of “artificial intelligence + information” in China, with top technologies in big data mining, intelligent semantics, knowledge mapping and other fields. At the same time, its research and development products include information robot, editing robot, writing robot and other artificial intelligence products! With its strong technical strength, the company has received angel round investment at the beginning of its establishment, and received pre-A round investment of $5 million from GSR Venture Capital in August 2015.
As the general manager of Shandong Jingang Intelligent Equipment Co., LTD., Zang Qunbang led his team, over the years committed to creating the first brand of China’s robot palletizing industry, focusing on the research and development of robot palletizing machine, manufacturing, has accumulated a strong technical foundation, its products have now covered the country’s 27 provinces. Zang Qunbang stressed once again that only by solving the development problem of industrial robots can China transform from a manufacturing power to a manufacturing power.
Reporter: What is the concept of industrial robot? What does it do?
In the 1960s, the First industrial robot was successfully developed in the United States. At that time, American industry developed rapidly, but labor shortage, labor costs kept rising. They considered developing a machine that could replace people in factories for various tasks, such as welding, painting, handling, assembly… The robot began to look like a human arm, with a big arm, a small arm, a wrist and a hand, programmed to do all sorts of things. Holding a welding gun can weld, holding a spray gun can spray paint, there are claws can be transported. At that time, the American automobile industry developed rapidly, and robots were first used in cars.
Japan, which also faced labor shortages and high labor costs after the war, quickly introduced the technology. The government issued supportive policies and the industrial robot industry soon developed. For robot manufacturers, the government gives subsidies to reduce the risk of making robots, thus stimulating the factory’s enthusiasm. Users will also receive government subsidies to buy and use robots, and the more they use, the more subsidies they will receive. Today, Japan has become the world’s largest producer and user of industrial robots.
Japan will be called 1980 “robot year”, they basically achieved industrialization and promotion application in this year.
Industrial robots later developed in Europe, like Germany and Sweden. Abb of Sweden and Kuka of Germany all developed under such historical background.
China began to include robots in its national programs in the early 1980s, and later included them in the “863 Program” and the Natural Science Foundation of China. It’s been more than 30 years since then, and we’ve been able to build industrial robots, but the industry hasn’t grown, it’s small, it’s still in its infancy. At present, China has no large-scale robot production enterprises like Kuka, ABB and Yaskawa. But in those 30 years, we have also made progress in industrial robotics.
Reporter: How to know the robot industry?
I think it’s a trillion dollar industry that is permeating all industries with new materials, sensors and AI. Industrial robots, in particular, have shown a spurt of development in the past three years, mainly manifested in the four major technological waves of Internet and big data, medical and health and the Internet of things, new energy and intelligent vehicles, intelligent manufacturing and robots. National leaders consider the robot industry to be the pearl in the crown of manufacturing, and its research and development, manufacturing and application will be an important symbol of a country’s development.
Robot industry is a strategic high-tech industry in the future. It is not only the core basic equipment of intelligent manufacturing, but also can promote the upgrading of related industries. It plays an important role in promoting the emerging industries in the future. An American professor believes that robots, digital manufacturing and artificial intelligence are the most important aspects of future manufacturing, and the combination of the three will change the structure of future manufacturing.
Reporter: To what extent have industrial robots been used in western countries?
Japan, for example, has more than 300 robots for every 10,000 workers. China has fewer than 20. In this respect, China’s potential market is huge. Because China is a manufacturing power, in 2010 our total manufacturing volume has surpassed that of the United States. But we did it with 100 million workers, compared with 10 million in the United States. This figure shows that our production efficiency is less than one tenth of that of the United States, and the means of production are still very backward.
In 2010, I visited some enterprises in coastal areas. Although their products can be exported and their output is large, they are all manual and labor-intensive. A look at the workshop, many people there with manual welding, assembly, production.
In recent years, China has also encountered the problems that western and developed countries have encountered in the past — labor shortages and high labor costs. China does not have so many cheap labor, how to develop in the future? China is facing industrial transformation and upgrading to transform itself from a major manufacturer into a powerhouse. So, there is already a period of high demand for industrial robots.
Some say that China’s industrial robot market will become the world’s largest demand market, because China’s manufacturing industry is so large that millions of industrial robots are needed to achieve the level of automation in the United States, Japan and Germany.
Reporter: What is the current output of industrial robots in China?
There are statistics for 2013, but they are not particularly accurate: about 110,000 to 120,000 new robots were sold in China. Perhaps a tenth of them are made in China, with 90 per cent imported — Kuka’s, ABB’s, Yaskawa’s. To the Shanghai automobile factory, the first automobile factory, the second automobile factory, Beiqi, Nanqi these large automobile factories, robots are used a lot, basically are foreign.
If China were to match U.S. productivity, it would have to equip more than 3 million industrial robots, leaving a few million short. These big foreign manufacturers can’t produce so many, so China’s industrial robot industry has a lot of room for development.
Reporter: How to look at the current development of industrial robots?
There are three generations of industrial robots. The first generation of robots is teaching reproduction, give it programming, teach it what to do, it will be faithful to do according to the program, a thousand times, ten thousand times not out of shape. But this robot has no sense system, if the external environment changes, it has no sense, no thinking function, can not plan their own behavior. The most widely used industrial robot abroad is the first generation robot. Sensing is the second generation of robots, which are not as common as the first generation.
The second generation is a robot with sensory functions, such as vision, which can judge the position and direction of movement of parts, and even put parts of different shapes such as circles, squares and triangles into different boxes. Sentient robots are already in production, but they are still relatively rare, with 90% of them now first-generation.
A rover sent to Mars is intelligent and can judge and decide for itself what to do. Fully autonomous robots have not yet appeared, this kind of robot is the third generation of intelligent robots.
Reporter: What are the trends in the robot industry?
In my opinion, the robot industry has three development stages. The first stage is when robots replace people to do dangerous work; the second stage is when robots are used in large quantities to improve production efficiency and quality; the third stage is when robots are used to expand people’s abilities in body and intelligence. Generally speaking, the robot industry will develop from single machine to unmanned chemical plant, from automobile industry to related industries, from simple mechanical technology to complex artificial intelligence.
Reporter: How long do you think it will take China to achieve the goal of automating production through industrial robots?
Some say in 2025. To realize the dream of manufacturing power in China, I think it is possible, but very difficult. Only through joint efforts from the top down, governments at all levels, enterprises, scientific research and school departments, can we solve this transformation and upgrade and achieve the goal of building China into a manufacturing power.
We also need to cultivate high-tech personnel needed by manufacturing powerful enterprises, skilled personnel who can use, operate and maintain industrial robots, and the whole production of technical and talent teams should be of a high level.
General Secretary Xi Jinping mentioned robots in his report to the Conference of Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in June, the first time a state leader has mentioned robots as a specific issue. I am very excited to hear this report, from the national leaders have so much attention, China’s industrial robots have hope.
Now all over the development momentum is very fierce, high temperature, a bit like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. But who can make it? To see who can make large-scale production, must like Kuka, ABB, Yaskawa to have a considerable output, a considerable number of users, this is successful.
Japan also went through this stage. At first, it imported technology from the United States, and various robot companies emerged. Every car factory even made robots and became a robot factory. After more than 20 years of development, several large factories such as Yaskawa are now successful. They have gradually absorbed small factories and formed large enterprises.
Reporter: What are the prospects of industrial robots?
The robot revolution is expected to be the entry point of the third industrial revolution, which will affect the pattern of global manufacturing, Xi Jinping said at a conference of Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in June. I think the attention of national leaders, the attention of western developed countries to industrial robots, as well as the rapid development of domestic industrial robots, all show that the development prospect of industrial robots is very good.
According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the “robot revolution” will create a market worth trillions of dollars. According to McKinsey, the application of advanced robots in industries such as manufacturing and processing will create an output value of 1.7 trillion to 4.5 trillion dollars by 2025.
Giiso information, founded in 2013, is the first domestic high-tech enterprise focusing on the research and development of intelligent information processing technology and the development and operation of core software for writing robots. At the beginning of its establishment, the company received angel round investment, and in August 2015, GSR Venture Capital received $5 million pre-A round of investment.
Reporter: How to understand that industrial robots are breeding the next growth point of “Made in China”?
Data from the China Robot Industry Alliance shows that the average density of robots in the world is 51, compared with 15 in China. As a manufacturing power, China has 21 robots per 10,000 workers, less than half of the international average of 55. But such figures only speak of the past.
From now on, “The Chinese robot market is about to explode”, which was predicted a year ago, is now being confirmed in the market. The recent good news about industrial robots is “a lot”. At the end of September, China’s first digital robot production line was put into operation in Shenyang, with an annual capacity of 5,000 industrial robots. In October, Hangzhou Wahaha Group confirmed that it will cross the border into the special purpose robot industry. Industry sources also say that dairy giant Mengniu Is making extensive use of industrial robots on its production lines.
At the same time, more and more enterprises have invested or set up robot companies, or acquired the shares of foreign robot companies, and some enterprises have even set up commercial banks to finance the development of robot projects. In addition, there are more international robot enterprises aiming at the domestic market, one after another occupy the territory, seize the dock. There is no doubt that the market will enter the era of “dancing” with robots. Experts have analyzed that the robot industry may become a new global economic engine in the future, and the next growth point of Chinese manufacturing may be born here.