Reference News Network reported on December 20 According to a report by the Nikkei on December 19, Chinese factories are actively using humanoid robots. BYD and other automakers have begun to introduce robots developed by domestic start-ups. The move is aimed at preparing for the domestic labor shortage. Further upgrades to artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which plays a role in the brain, will become a key factor in promoting the official popularization of humanoid robots.
BYD's factory in Hunan Province has introduced the humanoid robot WalkerS1. This is a product developed by UBTECH Robotics.
When the automated guided transport vehicle arrived, WalkerS1 picked up the box with parts on the ground and walked to the automated guided transport vehicle to load the goods. In order to officially introduce humanoid robots in the future, BYD began to recruit R&D talents.
Humanoid robots are not only capable of light physical labor. According to UBTECH's chief brand officer Tan Min, humanoid robots are more efficient than humans in terms of quality management using cameras.
NIO's factory in Anhui Province has also introduced UBTECH robots. Some robots walk around the car, check the locks with cameras, and pull the seat belts by hand to check if there are any imperfections. Some robots pinch the brand logo with their fingers and put it on the hood, and use tools to fix it.
Some robots play a role closer to humans. At Zeekr, the high-end electric vehicle brand of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, in its factory in Zhejiang Province, robots open the door and get in the car, making sounds to confirm whether the voice AI on board is working properly.
Tan Min pointed out that about 70% of factory work is done by existing robots, the remaining 30% is done by humans, and humanoid robots will do 20% in the future. It is said that in terms of equipment operation and factory management, manual work accounts for about 10% of the total workload.
As of October, UBTECH has received orders for about 500 humanoid robots.
The characteristic of humanoid robots is that they can carry out various tasks. It is also convenient, and can change the configuration and work content without changing the factory layout according to the busyness of the work.
According to research institutions, sales of humanoid robots in China will increase from 4,000 in 2024 to more than 270,000 in 2030.
The reason why large manufacturers are actively promoting the use of humanoid robots is that China's aging population is intensifying.
Yushu Technology Co., Ltd., headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, launched the humanoid robot H1 in August 2023 and the G1 in May 2024. Weilai introduced the H1 for use in areas such as parts handling.
However, for humanoid robots to truly become popular, their functions need to be further improved. According to Chen Li, co-founder of Yushu Technology, robots can only replace a small part of human work at present, and the cost of robots is higher than that of labor.
The current issue is that the AI technology installed in humanoid robots is not yet mature. Foxconn Technology Group, a subsidiary of Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., is trying out UBTECH robots in its factories in mainland China. Foxconn expects robots to be able to perform assembly and welding operations, but robots "cannot yet complete complex tasks."
UBTECH and Yushu Technology make effective use of large language models. If factories introduce humanoid robots to perform operations more often and use them more often, the AI will have more learning data and it will gradually become possible to complete more difficult tasks. Humanoid robots may cause a huge change in the manufacturing industry in the next few years. (Compiled by Ma Xiaoyun)