How far is it for machine "humans" to enter households
2024-09-08 17:14
At the just concluded 2024 World Robot Conference in Beijing, various humanoid robots interacted with the audience, and many people couldn't help but exclaim, "I feel like I'm in the next century.
Humanoid robots - this type of artificial intelligence (AI) with a "body" is the protagonist in many science fiction movies. How far is it from entering the home and daily life?
A humanoid robot captured at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st. Photo by Ren Chao, Xinhua News Agency reporter
The application scenarios are expanding day by day
If the robotics industry is widely recognized as the "future industry", then humanoid robots are a "collection" of multiple technologies such as new technologies, new materials, and high-end manufacturing.
For example, "body" refers to the hardware module of the robot body, including limbs and related functional components; The cerebellum, a motion control system, receives task instructions from the brain upwards and controls the overall movement of the body downwards; The 'brain', also known as the AI big model, is responsible for reasoning, planning, decision-making, environmental perception, and communication.
The reporter learned that nearly 30 humanoid robots made their debut at this conference, setting a new record and unlocking more application scenarios in the real world.
For example, in home life, Leju Robot's platform wheel humanoid robot can adapt to various indoor environments, including simulating future home scenes, giving more possibilities for "freeing hands".
In the commercial retail scene, a GALBOT G1 universal humanoid robot from Beijing Galaxy General Robot Co., Ltd. can pick products from shelves and accurately deliver them to customers after hearing voice commands.
At present, domestic manufacturers have put humanoid robot products into offline scenarios, and some have achieved small-scale production. The plan is to deploy GALBOT G1 in commercial scenarios such as unmanned pharmacies and supermarkets this year, making it a reality to help humans' work ', "a staff member of Galaxy General told reporters.
The wheeled dual arm humanoid robot exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st. Photo by Yan Yuxin from Xinhua News Agency
The Qingbao robot with highly humanoid expressions and movements is currently mainly used in cultural and tourism scenes as well as industrial scenes. Wang Lei, Chairman of Shanghai Qingbao Engine Robot Co., Ltd., told reporters that the company has signed orders for humanoid robots worth tens of millions of yuan this year and has achieved a slight profit. It is expected that the sales revenue will reach 50 million yuan by the end of this year.
There are constantly new players entering the humanoid robot race track. In 2023 alone, about 20 humanoid robot companies such as Stardust Intelligence, Starmotion Era, and Zhiyuan Robotics will be established; There are also veteran players who have successfully sprinted towards the "first stock of humanoid robots" by using capitalization methods to push the humanoid robot industry onto the fast lane
According to data from Qichacha, if we expand our perspective to the entire robotics industry, the number of existing robotics related enterprises in China has increased from 13300 in 2014 to 178500 in 2023, a 13 fold increase.
Entering the house may take at least 3 to 5 years
Although regarded as one of the most cutting-edge technologies, respondents generally believe that humanoid robots are currently in the stage of stepping out of the laboratory and moving towards industrialization. Large scale implementation will first gather in industrial scenarios, and as for "entering the home", it may not be so fast.
For example, the industrial version of the humanoid robot Walker S from Ubiquitous Technology Co., Ltd. has transformed into an automotive inspection engineer, performing tasks such as sorting and quality inspection on automotive assembly lines.
According to the staff of Ubiquitous, this robot can transport boxes weighing up to 15 kilograms, and its built-in multimodal large model "brain" can record data in real time, allowing it to better "understand" the surrounding environment and achieve millimeter level accuracy in detection. It is reported that Walker S has already settled in smart factories of multiple car companies such as NIO and Jike to "work" this year.
The humanoid universal robot exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st.
In the past year, Yushu Technology has successively released the humanoid universal robot H1 priced at 650000 yuan and the humanoid robot G1 mass-produced version priced at 99000 yuan. Yushu staff told reporters that H1 orders have been scheduled for after October next year.
The first entry of humanoid robots into industrial settings and scientific research institutions is actually a result of the current level of technology matching user needs. However, what people are more concerned about is when the "vision" of humanoid robots entering households can be realized?
Roughly estimated to be 3 to 5 years, "Wang Lei admitted. Firstly, there is the issue of cost. Currently, humanoid robots are expensive, mostly ranging from tens of thousands to millions of yuan, which ordinary families cannot afford. Secondly, the stability and safety of technology require humanoid robots to accurately perform tasks in various complex environments without any malfunctions or errors. Thirdly, the 'brain' of robots, that is, intelligence, still needs to be improved
The humanoid robot exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st.
The reporter noticed that there are still "awkward moments" for humanoid robots at present. Taking the humanoid robots exhibited at this World Robot Conference as an example, most of them need to be suspended on steel frames with ropes because the lower limbs of the robots are difficult to stand steadily; Some robots often stop to "slow down", and their lack of endurance and output power causes them to feel a bit "stuck"; Robots have also had their interactive systems shut down, and noisy environments can cause them to crash due to confusion in command recognition
It can be imagined that in order to bring humanoid robots into households, comprehensive technological breakthroughs are still needed, and each link requires sufficient investment and patience.
Industry insiders believe that the entire industry is still searching for a household scenario that can trigger widespread demand and activate the huge market potential. Under the trend of aging population, the application of robots in the elderly care field may become the next trend, "said Wang Lei.
The road to growth is getting wider and wider
Despite the many challenges that need to be overcome, robots, as an emerging technology that combines artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering, are seen as the future direction of industrial development.
In November 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots", proposing development goals such as establishing a preliminary innovation system for humanoid robots by 2025, achieving international advanced levels of complete machine products, significantly improving the technological innovation capabilities of humanoid robots by 2027, and becoming an important new engine for economic growth. At the local level, Beijing, Shanghai and other places have also issued industrial support policies.
According to the International Federation of Robotics, the compound annual growth rate of the global humanoid robot market is expected to reach 71% from 2021 to 2030. According to the data of China Electronics Society, the market size of humanoid robots in China is expected to reach about 870 billion yuan by 2030.
The humanoid robot exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st. Photo by Yan Yuxin from Xinhua News Agency
Currently, the production technology of core components for humanoid robots such as sensors and precision reducers, as well as AI big model technology, are accelerating iterative updates in China.
It is understood that China's robotics industry has reached a relatively leading level in some fields. For example, the world's first universal humanoid robot open-source public version machine "Qinglong" has up to 43 motion "joints" that can be actively controlled by its own power source. The "joint" module is equipped with 10 types of 31 joints, which also means that the robot can make movements closer to humans.
At the press conference of the 2024 World Robot Conference held on August 13, Xu Xiaolan, Chairman of the China Electronics Society, stated that currently, key core components such as precision reducers in China's industrial robots have formed a rich product line, and the technical level and industrialization ability have been greatly improved.
The "brain power" of the robotics industry is also advancing rapidly. The reporter learned from the staff of iFlytek that the company has a "robot brain" based on a large model, which can achieve multiple language recognition and interaction in multi-modal scenarios with multiple people.
This module integrates multiple modalities such as vision and sound, and can separate which people are talking to the robot in a noisy environment and provide responses, "said the staff member above.
In fact, apart from robots that look like humans, all types of robot industries in China are maturing. For example, domestic enterprises have also seized the robot race track of Lingqiao Hand, robotic arm, quadruped robot dog, etc., and demonstrated certain commercial and social value in multiple fields such as fire emergency, health and medical care.
The Yushu Technology consumer quadruped robot Go2 will be exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st.
Taking Yushu Technology's quadruped robotic dog as an example, after 8 years of technological iteration, tasks such as flexible jumping and weight-bearing climbing stairs can be completed.
The industry generally believes that the integration of AI technology represented by large models with hardware technology of robots will generate more "cascading effects", and a complete industrial chain is accelerating its formation. The growth path of robots will become wider and wider.
The application scenarios are expanding day by day
If the robotics industry is widely recognized as the "future industry", then humanoid robots are a "collection" of multiple technologies such as new technologies, new materials, and high-end manufacturing.
For example, "body" refers to the hardware module of the robot body, including limbs and related functional components; The cerebellum, a motion control system, receives task instructions from the brain upwards and controls the overall movement of the body downwards; The 'brain', also known as the AI big model, is responsible for reasoning, planning, decision-making, environmental perception, and communication.
The reporter learned that nearly 30 humanoid robots made their debut at this conference, setting a new record and unlocking more application scenarios in the real world.
For example, in home life, Leju Robot's platform wheel humanoid robot can adapt to various indoor environments, including simulating future home scenes, giving more possibilities for "freeing hands".
In the commercial retail scene, a GALBOT G1 universal humanoid robot from Beijing Galaxy General Robot Co., Ltd. can pick products from shelves and accurately deliver them to customers after hearing voice commands.
At present, domestic manufacturers have put humanoid robot products into offline scenarios, and some have achieved small-scale production. The plan is to deploy GALBOT G1 in commercial scenarios such as unmanned pharmacies and supermarkets this year, making it a reality to help humans' work ', "a staff member of Galaxy General told reporters.
The wheeled dual arm humanoid robot exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st. Photo by Yan Yuxin from Xinhua News Agency
The Qingbao robot with highly humanoid expressions and movements is currently mainly used in cultural and tourism scenes as well as industrial scenes. Wang Lei, Chairman of Shanghai Qingbao Engine Robot Co., Ltd., told reporters that the company has signed orders for humanoid robots worth tens of millions of yuan this year and has achieved a slight profit. It is expected that the sales revenue will reach 50 million yuan by the end of this year.
There are constantly new players entering the humanoid robot race track. In 2023 alone, about 20 humanoid robot companies such as Stardust Intelligence, Starmotion Era, and Zhiyuan Robotics will be established; There are also veteran players who have successfully sprinted towards the "first stock of humanoid robots" by using capitalization methods to push the humanoid robot industry onto the fast lane
According to data from Qichacha, if we expand our perspective to the entire robotics industry, the number of existing robotics related enterprises in China has increased from 13300 in 2014 to 178500 in 2023, a 13 fold increase.
Entering the house may take at least 3 to 5 years
Although regarded as one of the most cutting-edge technologies, respondents generally believe that humanoid robots are currently in the stage of stepping out of the laboratory and moving towards industrialization. Large scale implementation will first gather in industrial scenarios, and as for "entering the home", it may not be so fast.
For example, the industrial version of the humanoid robot Walker S from Ubiquitous Technology Co., Ltd. has transformed into an automotive inspection engineer, performing tasks such as sorting and quality inspection on automotive assembly lines.
According to the staff of Ubiquitous, this robot can transport boxes weighing up to 15 kilograms, and its built-in multimodal large model "brain" can record data in real time, allowing it to better "understand" the surrounding environment and achieve millimeter level accuracy in detection. It is reported that Walker S has already settled in smart factories of multiple car companies such as NIO and Jike to "work" this year.
The humanoid universal robot exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st.
In the past year, Yushu Technology has successively released the humanoid universal robot H1 priced at 650000 yuan and the humanoid robot G1 mass-produced version priced at 99000 yuan. Yushu staff told reporters that H1 orders have been scheduled for after October next year.
The first entry of humanoid robots into industrial settings and scientific research institutions is actually a result of the current level of technology matching user needs. However, what people are more concerned about is when the "vision" of humanoid robots entering households can be realized?
Roughly estimated to be 3 to 5 years, "Wang Lei admitted. Firstly, there is the issue of cost. Currently, humanoid robots are expensive, mostly ranging from tens of thousands to millions of yuan, which ordinary families cannot afford. Secondly, the stability and safety of technology require humanoid robots to accurately perform tasks in various complex environments without any malfunctions or errors. Thirdly, the 'brain' of robots, that is, intelligence, still needs to be improved
The humanoid robot exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st.
The reporter noticed that there are still "awkward moments" for humanoid robots at present. Taking the humanoid robots exhibited at this World Robot Conference as an example, most of them need to be suspended on steel frames with ropes because the lower limbs of the robots are difficult to stand steadily; Some robots often stop to "slow down", and their lack of endurance and output power causes them to feel a bit "stuck"; Robots have also had their interactive systems shut down, and noisy environments can cause them to crash due to confusion in command recognition
It can be imagined that in order to bring humanoid robots into households, comprehensive technological breakthroughs are still needed, and each link requires sufficient investment and patience.
Industry insiders believe that the entire industry is still searching for a household scenario that can trigger widespread demand and activate the huge market potential. Under the trend of aging population, the application of robots in the elderly care field may become the next trend, "said Wang Lei.
The road to growth is getting wider and wider
Despite the many challenges that need to be overcome, robots, as an emerging technology that combines artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering, are seen as the future direction of industrial development.
In November 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots", proposing development goals such as establishing a preliminary innovation system for humanoid robots by 2025, achieving international advanced levels of complete machine products, significantly improving the technological innovation capabilities of humanoid robots by 2027, and becoming an important new engine for economic growth. At the local level, Beijing, Shanghai and other places have also issued industrial support policies.
According to the International Federation of Robotics, the compound annual growth rate of the global humanoid robot market is expected to reach 71% from 2021 to 2030. According to the data of China Electronics Society, the market size of humanoid robots in China is expected to reach about 870 billion yuan by 2030.
The humanoid robot exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st. Photo by Yan Yuxin from Xinhua News Agency
Currently, the production technology of core components for humanoid robots such as sensors and precision reducers, as well as AI big model technology, are accelerating iterative updates in China.
It is understood that China's robotics industry has reached a relatively leading level in some fields. For example, the world's first universal humanoid robot open-source public version machine "Qinglong" has up to 43 motion "joints" that can be actively controlled by its own power source. The "joint" module is equipped with 10 types of 31 joints, which also means that the robot can make movements closer to humans.
At the press conference of the 2024 World Robot Conference held on August 13, Xu Xiaolan, Chairman of the China Electronics Society, stated that currently, key core components such as precision reducers in China's industrial robots have formed a rich product line, and the technical level and industrialization ability have been greatly improved.
The "brain power" of the robotics industry is also advancing rapidly. The reporter learned from the staff of iFlytek that the company has a "robot brain" based on a large model, which can achieve multiple language recognition and interaction in multi-modal scenarios with multiple people.
This module integrates multiple modalities such as vision and sound, and can separate which people are talking to the robot in a noisy environment and provide responses, "said the staff member above.
In fact, apart from robots that look like humans, all types of robot industries in China are maturing. For example, domestic enterprises have also seized the robot race track of Lingqiao Hand, robotic arm, quadruped robot dog, etc., and demonstrated certain commercial and social value in multiple fields such as fire emergency, health and medical care.
The Yushu Technology consumer quadruped robot Go2 will be exhibited at the 2024 World Robot Conference on August 21st.
Taking Yushu Technology's quadruped robotic dog as an example, after 8 years of technological iteration, tasks such as flexible jumping and weight-bearing climbing stairs can be completed.
The industry generally believes that the integration of AI technology represented by large models with hardware technology of robots will generate more "cascading effects", and a complete industrial chain is accelerating its formation. The growth path of robots will become wider and wider.
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