Forum champions open source for humanoid robotics boom

The Open Path for Humanoid Robotics forum, held at the West Bund Art Center in Shanghai on Sunday as part of the Global Developer Conference, saw a shared belief among industry leaders that open-source technology will be the key to unlocking the full potential of humanoid robotics.

"Open source is the way to go," said Jiang Lei, chief scientist of the National-Local Collaborative Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center. "The whole open-source idea is really taking off this year. Last year there was a lot of hesitation, but now people are seeing the value of global collaboration for making great technology."

Jiang elaborated on the significance of the open-source approach, saying, "we're finding that open source is the perfect approach for tackling unknown territory and creating truly disruptive technology through shared efforts."

The National-Local Collaborative Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center has spearheaded the development of OpenLoong, an open-source platform for humanoid robots, which has already received approval from the OpenAtom Foundation. The center plans to further advance the OpenLoong project in 2025 by expanding its capabilities and building a robust open-source ecosystem.

"We are actively driving the development of the open-source ecosystem, establishing the OpenLoong open-source community to gather global developers' wisdom, jointly advancing the innovation and application of humanoid robot technology," said Xu Bin, general manager of the center. "We believe that by sharing technology, we can accelerate progress and make humanoid robotics accessible to everyone."

The forum, organized by the Global Developer Conference, focused on the latest advancements in embodied intelligence and the construction of an open-source ecosystem for humanoid robotics.

The event featured speakers from companies, institutions and communities, such as AgiBot, Shanghai Innovation Institute and Guyue Home who all stressed the importance of collaborative innovation through open source for the rapid development of humanoid robotics.

"Humanoid robotics is currently experiencing a golden age of rapid development, becoming a crucial force in driving economic and social progress," said Zhang Hongtao, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization. "Technological advancements and the establishment of open-source systems are jointly accelerating the growth of this field."

"Shanghai has open-sourced the first full-size humanoid robot public version machine 'Qinglong', and at the 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, we, alongside 15 companies including AgiBot and Fourier, unveiled the humanoid robot vanguard matrix. In 2024, Shanghai's robot body production scale exceeded 1,000 units," Zhang added.

The forum showcased the potential of open-source technology to address real-world challenges in the field of humanoid robotics. Jiang highlighted the potential of open-source platforms to accelerate research and development by providing a common ground for collaboration and knowledge sharing, particularly in areas like humanoid walking pattern and the development of new data sets.

The event also featured a panel discussion that focused on the key elements needed to cultivate a healthy and sustainable open-source ecosystem for humanoid robotics.

Panelists emphasized the importance of a collaborative approach, sharing best practices, and developing standardized interfaces to promote greater interoperability between different robotic systems.

Luo Bin contributed to this story.