Robots propel development of multiple industries in China

BEIJING - At the ongoing 2023 World Robot Conference (WRC) in Beijing, four large red robotic arms, featuring flexible wrists and high-torque designs, captivatingly demonstrated their industrial precision by welding a white car in the exhibition hall, mirroring factory-like efficiency.

"We started developing this robot in 2012. After the upgrading, its repeated positioning accuracy reached between plus 0.2 mm and minus 0.2 mm. About 100 such robots have been deployed in the automobile industry across China," said Ma Cheng, an industry manager of the Siasun Robot and Automation Co Ltd based in Shenyang in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

The seven-day conference that kicked off on Aug 16 has attracted some 160 robot enterprises from around the world. The participating firms have showcased nearly 600 robot sets, according to the WRC organizer.

The robots cover a number of fields, including agriculture, manufacturing, logistics and healthcare. In the healthcare sector, the application of robots in surgery, sampling and telemedicine was demonstrated during the conference.

The upper limb rehabilitation training system, developed by Estun Medical, showed how the robots equipped with an intelligent arm and screen, can provide assistance to patients in recovery from neurological or orthopedic conditions.

"The system can improve the upper limb strength and help the recovery of nerve pathways. It has already been used in many rehabilitation centers and nursing homes in Beijing and Nanjing," said Xu Yuanyuan, an exhibitor representing Estun Medical.

The conference also featured agricultural robots, used for various tasks such as sowing, weeding, watering and harvesting, as well as robots designed for emergency situations and extreme weather conditions.

China's robot industry maintained steady expansion in the first half of the year. The output of industrial robots reached 222,000 sets, an increase of 5.4 percent year-on-year, while the production of service robots amounted to 3.53 million sets, up 9.6 percent from a year ago, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Wang Yaonan, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the R&D, manufacturing and application of robots represent the strength of sci-tech innovation and high-end manufacturing of a country. The thriving robot industry is changing people's lifestyles and injecting new vitality into economic and social development, Wang added.

The 2023 report on China's robot technology and industrial development was released during the conference. According to the report, the in-depth application of robots in fields such as new energy vehicles, medical operation and powerline inspection, can support digital transformation and intelligent upgrading.

Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, said that driven by technology and the market, China's robot industry has continued to expand, with the coordinated development of enterprises in fields like manufacturing and sci-tech.

Industrial robots cover 65 major industries in China, playing an important role in major projects such as manned spaceflight and lunar exploration, Xin added.

It is necessary to pool resources of industry and academia, jointly undertake pivotal research and make concerted efforts in R&D to propel industrial development, said Chen Ying, secretary-general of the Chinese Institute of Electronics.