Analysis of China's humanoid robot industry

Coincidentally, at Tesla's second quarter earnings conference this year, Musk made it clear that Tesla has produced 10 Optimus Primes, which are expected to be tested on foot in November this year, and are planned to be tested on practicality at the Tesla factory next year. According to the future direction revealed by Tesla, Optimus Prime's application scenarios will take over the entire automotive production field in the future, realizing truly unmanned production.

Improve the layout of the industrial chain and promote the steady development of Chinese humanoid robots

For the humanoid robot industry, promotion only from star companies and scientific research institutions is not entirely sufficient.

The report shows that patents for the main technical branches of humanoid robots can be divided into five categories: main body structure, intelligent perception, drive control, core components and supporting environment. Each category can be divided into at least three subcategories. The technologies involved include but are not limited to reducers, energy systems, power systems, motion control, etc.; among them, main body structure, intelligent perception and drive control have become the three main technical fields of patent layout.

Behind these technical branches is a complex industrial chain. The "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots" mentioned that my country plans to form a safe and reliable industrial chain and supply chain system by 2027, build an industrial ecology with international competitiveness, and achieve world-leading comprehensive strength.

Behind this, China's independent industrial manufacturing system will provide strong support. At present, a number of manufacturing companies specializing in the research and development of humanoid robot parts have emerged in my country, such as Sanhua Intelligent Control and Top Group, which focus on joint assemblies, Orbbec, which focuses on sensors, Lixing, which focuses on bearings, and Huichuan Technology and Qinchuan Machine Tools, which focus on balls/ball screws.

In addition to parts R&D companies, humanoid robot companies have also accumulated considerable core technologies. Since its establishment in 2012, UBTECH Robotics has continued to invest in the full stack of humanoid robot technologies, including robot motion planning and control technology, servo, voice interaction, SLAM and autonomous technology, visual servo operation and human-machine interaction, and robot application framework A and other core technologies.

The prospectus shows that as of June 30, 2023, UBTECH's full-stack technology owns 1,800 robotics and artificial intelligence-related patents, of which more than 380 are overseas patents; during the reporting period, UBTECH's annual R&D expenditure accounted for 56.5% of total revenue.

The "China Robotics Technology and Industry Development Report (2023)" released at the 2023 World Robot Conference shows that the overall development level of my country's robot industry has steadily improved, the application scenarios have significantly expanded, and the localization process of core components has continued to accelerate; at the same time, the "China's Various Robot Industries Atlas" released by the Chinese Society shows that my country has formed high-quality robot industry clusters in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and other regions. These accumulations are all contributing to the development of the country's humanoid robot industry.

Seize the opportunity and fight for the future

Although the industry is still in its relatively early stages of development, the potential competition surrounding humanoid robots is intensifying around the world.

In addition to UBTECH, Xiaomi, and Tesla mentioned above, more well-known companies or start-ups have made humanoid robots a key investment area. Companies including Xiaopeng, Yushu Technology, and Fourier have displayed or released humanoid robot products this year. The Zhiyuan robot of Huawei's genius boy "Zhihuijun" has won a lot of attention. Overseas, in addition to Tesla, companies such as, OpenAI, and Dyson have also deployed humanoid robots through various means such as investment and self-research.

In the competition for a place in the global humanoid robot industry, China is accelerating its investment.

On November 2, Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Co., Ltd. was formally established in the Robot Innovation Industrial Park of the Economic Development Zone. It plans to carry out five key tasks, including the prototype of the universal humanoid robot and the universal large model of the humanoid robot. This is the first provincial humanoid robot innovation center in the country. Beijing Xiaomi Robot Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing UBTECH Intelligent Robot Co., Ltd., and Beijing Jingcheng Mechanical and Electrical Industry Investment Co., Ltd. jointly hold shares, and the legal representative is UBTECH CTO Xiong Youjun. The "national team" of humanoid robots is about to emerge, and there will be more development opportunities in the future.

In terms of humanoid robot technology accumulation, Chinese enterprises and industry-university-research institutions are already at the forefront of the world; in terms of industrialization, Chinese enterprises have also begun to practice. Facing the possible "next generation of disruptive products", China may have already obtained the ticket to enter.

Reviewing Editor: Huang Fei