Automating world with Chinese robots

In 2016, Siasun bought Teutloff Training and Welding Education Non-profit Ltd Liability Company, a leading German mechanical engineering vocational school, for an undisclosed sum. The deal gave the company access to Germany's decades of experience in vocational training.

It has also teamed up with Israeli companies and universities for a China-Israel robot research institute in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. They are making joint efforts in the R&D of technologies such as artificial intelligence which Qu billed as of great importance. AI gives robots "wings", he said.

Wang Tianmiao, president of the Smart Manufacturing Research Institute at Beihang University, said technological progress is helping accelerate the global expansion of Chinese robot makers.

"But greater international cooperation on R&D is needed to crack the high-end overseas market," Wang said.

Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, the nation's top industry regulator, also said that China will ramp up resources to strengthen international cooperation as it strives to build a globally competitive robotics industry and accelerate the use of smart machines in manufacturing, healthcare and other sectors.

China's domestic robot industry has long been facing obstacles such as heavy reliance on crucial components from foreign companies. But according to the ministry, last year, about 50 percent of domestic robots were equipped with homegrown servomotors, a key element in sophisticated automated machines, solving some of the technological bottlenecks that impede the whole industry's development.

Siasun had also unveiled its latest in-house control panels in 2017, which are equipped with AI capabilities. The company entered the medical robot sector in 2017.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, despite slowing growth in the shipment of industrial robots worldwide, collaborative industrial robots, known as "cobots", are expected to become a growth engine for the industrial robots sector, and China will take center stage in the new trend.

Cobots are designed to physically interact with humans in a shared workspace, in contrast to most industrial robots used nowadays, which are often seen sitting behind safety barriers at factories. Cobots' ability to collaborate with human beings is more suitable for meeting the needs of industries with more specific, flexible or personal requirements.

In 2016, Siasun showcased China's first homegrown seven-axis collaborative robot which performed tai chi with a human master. Last year, the company took a step further by displaying a hybrid cobot at the Hannover Industry Fair in Germany to demonstrate two-robot synchronous technology.

Susanne Bieller, secretary-general of the International Federation of Robotics, said in an earlier interview with China Daily that "Chinese suppliers are strong in exploring industry sectors beyond automotive and electronics, which opens up a potentially unlimited market, and makes the robotics industry less susceptible to any risks caused by weaker phases in single industries".