China’s robotics industry is developing rapidly, and if until now it was believed that the best use for humanoid robots could be found in everyday life, representatives of the Chinese company UBTech, founded in 2012, claim that by the end of the year they will begin delivering such robots to customer enterprises in large quantities.
Image Source: UBTech Robotics
For classic industrial robots, the principle of human resemblance was not decisive for decades of industry development, but as technology improved, the use of “human substitutes” in production gained some meaning. In addition to Tesla, numerous Chinese competitors are planning to begin supplying humanoid robots for industrial use in the near future, many of which have even received the attention of Nvidia, which is promoting its own hardware platforms in the field of robotics.
Ubtech, as South China Morning Post notes with reference to the leadership of the Chinese company, intends to put from 500 to 1000 man -like robots of the Walker S series on enterprises of its partners and customers by the end of the year. At the same time, up to 60 % of this amount will relate to the second -generation model, Walker S2, which will be both more lifting than its predecessor, and easier. Robots of this type are already undergoing tests at auto -assembly enterprises of some Chinese electric vehicles, and they will also find the use of Foxconn in logistics and at the Taiwanese factories, which is the largest contract manufacturer of Apple electronics.
As noted in UBTech, priority deliveries of humanoid robots to industrial enterprises are due to a more predictable situation at these facilities. The closed environment of industrial enterprises is more uniform and predictable; in it it is easier to teach a robot to perform its functions than to adapt it to the whole variety of everyday situations. However, over time, UBTech hopes to literally offer humanoid robots for every family. In addition, humanoid robots in enterprises will help solve the problem of labor shortages.
This year the company is going to introduce the third generation of its humanoid robots, Walker S3. To teach robots to perform duties at Foxconn enterprises, they will have to be trained much longer than when working in the Chinese auto industry, where they are still trusted primarily to move cargo. The Chinese robotics industry is characterized by growing competition and prolonged unprofitability, since such developments do not pay off so quickly. For example, last year, although UBTech reduced its losses to $70.5 million, it was unable to turn a profit. Making a profit is not a priority goal for it in the near future; it is more important to invest in the development of artificial intelligence in relation to robotics.