[Observation] Chinese robots are standing above the tuyere

Whether it is the Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution, various countries have made frequent efforts in the field of new technologies represented by robots and artificial intelligence. Although China is rapidly catching up in the traditional manufacturing industry, there are some bottlenecks in the new generation of intelligent robots due to the weak technical reserves. With the enthusiasm of local governments and enterprises, the Chinese robotics industry needs to calm down, choose the right technical route, and avoid detours.

The current Chinese robot is standing above the cold and warm air. On the one hand, China is facing a wave of “machine-for-agent” growth. The market is growing at an alarming rate and unprecedented opportunities. Robots are the “pearl of the crown of the manufacturing industry.” The government and enterprises have great enthusiasm; on the other hand, robots Also facing the embarrassing situation of "high-end hollow out of place, low-end redundant construction", the bottleneck that restricts the development of the robot industry needs to be solved.

Shenyang Institute of Automation, established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1958, was one of the earliest units to carry out robot research in China. The Institute had cultivated Shenyang Xinsong Robot, the first robot listed company in China, and the State Key Laboratory of Robotics, which is based on the Institute, was also a robot in China. The backbone of basic technology research.

Chinese robots are standing above the cold and warm air

For scientific research institutions, how to solve the pain points of the above-mentioned robotics industry? What are the new industrial breakthroughs that robotics research may produce? From laboratory to industrialization, how to solve the "Valley of Death" problem? How to look at the robot industry on the outlet? With these questions, the reporter interviewed Yu Haibin, director of the State Key Laboratory of Robotics, and director of the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Weak reserve of next-generation robot technology

Reporter: Most of what I have seen in the laboratory are "high-precision" robotics R&D. How do you see the industrialization of these laboratory technologies?

Yu Haibin: The main mission of the State Key Laboratory is not to provide the industry with mature technology at the present stage. Its orientation is to face the source technology of robot development in the future, and it seeks to make disruptive innovations. The latter cannot be completed in the short term.

In fact, for the robotics industry, there is an innovative value chain with different division of labor from basic R&D to industrial application. In this chain, different subjects have different divisions of labor. The key laboratories need to be clearly positioned, focusing on basic technology research and development and high-end technological breakthroughs; at the same time, they must be connected with other social innovation subjects to make technological innovations.

Reporter: How can China's robotics industry avoid the "high-end hollow out of position, low-end redundant construction" problem? How to deal with basic scientific research?

Yu Haibin: This is divided into two levels. On the one hand, China is carrying out large-scale machine substitutions. It is certainly necessary to support the robot industry. On the other hand, while caring about the real industry, it also needs more support for front-end technology research and development and basic research.

The problem now is that basic R&D is a process of long-term accumulation of technology, and technological transformation also needs support. Economically, it may not be immediately effective. Everyone is very anxious. All of us are looking at the back-end industry, and we pay less attention to the front-end links.

We hope to make some technical reserves at the front end and not let the industry go hollow. Although the front-end technology is not easily identified by the public, we all do the flowering. Then who will seed it?

Reporter: In the field of robotics, is it possible that innovations in basic technologies will open up new directions for the industry?

Yu Haibin: Classifying robots from the perspective of technology carriers, one category refers to traditional robots based on photoelectromechanical and the other is based on information, biology, and new materials.

One of the core trends of change is digitization, networking, and intelligence, as well as advances in new materials. In the next decade, this may be a main theme of technology trends.

The second trend is the integration of robots with people and biology through the combination of bio-information technology. However, how biotechnology combines with opto-mechatronics is a challenging issue. The latter's technological prototype is not yet mature.