China steps into era of mass production of humanoid robots

As the global race to develop humanoid robots is heating up, China has recently scored significant advancements in the industry, with mass production of embodied artificial intelligence-powered robots already realized.

A tech firm based in Shanghai have already begun mass production of humanoid robots, with nearly 1,000 units of humanoid robots produced in 2024.

The humanoid robot produced by the company can be regarded as a general-purpose platform with certain AI capabilities, and on this basis, customers, spanning various sectors such as scientific research, manufacturing, and business affairs, can carry out secondary development in accordance with their needs, according to the company's production leader.

It took only less than nine months for the company to advance from setting up the production line to the mass production.

"It's estimated to have a production capacity of nearly 1,000 units this year (2024). And there are many orders, so our production line now is almost working at full capacity. Next year (2025), we expect to reach a production capacity of thousands of units," said Zhang Shaozheng, general manager at the manufacturing department of a humanoid robot factory in Shanghai.

Prior to the whole machine test, the robots have to go through multiple stages of sub-testing. For instance, the squat test for the single leg of a robot needs to be carried out more than 2,000 times before the assembly.

"The testing load is 30 kilograms, and we need to check its support for the upper limbs. If there is a problem with the legs, the robot may limp or fall while walking," said Huang Jiashun, test engineer of the humanoid robot factory in Shanghai.

With more than 40 degrees of freedom, the robot is capable of realizing versatile movements.

In particular, the upstream precision machining of many key components has overlapped with that of the domestic new energy vehicle industry.

"Some precision components like electric drive and reduction gearbox [in the new energy vehicle industry] can be easily applied to the robot industry, with most of them realizing a high localization rate. Because of the maturity of the entire upstream supply chain, we have been able to build such a robot in such a short period of time," said Zhang.

In addition, the tech firm has also set up a data collection factory for embodied AI, which describes the integration of a robot's machine learning, computer vision, and language technologies.

At the factory of more than 2,000 square meters, a string of working scenarios, such as kitchen and supermarket, have been set up to conduct data collection for hundreds of robots.

A major feature of embodied intelligence is to allow humanoid robots to constantly learn human actions by interacting with the physical world through its limbs with the help of large AI models.

The data collectors at the factory guide the robots to perform various actions, after which the collected data will be transmitted to the cloud for massive virtual training. The general-purpose model capabilities formed through generalization learning can be installed on every robot in the future.

The head of the tech firm said that their products will be endowed with more capabilities like touch and different forms including bipedal and wheeled robots in the near future, while costs will be reduced at the same time.

The global humanoid robot industry was booming in 2024, and many innovation centers for humanoid robots were established across China, with some products stepping into the incipient stage of commercialization, according to Wang Hao, head of the Industrial Policy Institute of the China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

"Humanoid robots will certainly develop faster in 2025, but there are still some breakthroughs to be made in both software and hardware before they can move quickly and autonomously like humans and perceive people's intentions well. We hope that humanoid robot products can continue to mature and enter thousands of households in the future," Wang said.

China steps into era of mass production of humanoid robots

Business leaders from Chinese manufacturing sector shared their insights for Chinese brands to go global at a China Media Group (CMG) event, highlighting the role of cutting-edge technology and the importance of high-quality products.

The CMG's business channel recorded its New Year's Eve Speech program at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing on Dec 26, with business insiders from leading Chinese enterprises discussing their thoughts on expanding into global markets.

Yang Dongsheng, the chairman of Chinese construction machinery manufacturer Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG), highlighted the power of heavy equipment.

As the world's third-largest producer by share of construction equipment sales worldwide, the XCMG has exported its products to over 190 countries and regions, covering more than 95 percent of the areas along the Belt and Road Initiative routes, Yang said, making it a representative of China's major industrial equipment reaching the global stage.

"The AI technology expands the boundaries of human intelligence, while the construction machinery enhances human strength, allowing us to continually push the limits of physical power. The machinery made by the XCMG has left a solid and shining footprint on the global stage, and was used in the projects including the large-scale wind power bases in Europe, the world's largest single refinery, the Pan-Asian Railway, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Saudi Arabia's futuristic city NEOM, and the world's largest iron ore mine in Simandou, drawing a grand blueprint for human interaction and integration," said Yang.

Apart from going global, Yang said the company is also stepping up efforts in the development of autonomous driving technology, and taking the lead in the digital transformation of construction machinery industry.

"There is an open-pit coal mine with an annual production capacity of 35 million tons by the Yimin River in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. At the coal mine, the coal transport trucks operate in an orderly and efficient manner. And the trucks have no driver, nor driver's cabin. Such equipment not only improves the safety of mining operations, but also contributes to reducing carbon emissions," said Yang.

Dong Mingzhu, the chairwoman of China's household appliance giant Gree, emphasized the quality of the products in her speech at the event.

In 2021, Gree launched its "10-Year Guaranteed Repair Policy" for air conditioning products. Dong said that while the policy presented challenges for the company, it also motivated Gree to produce high-quality products that could earn and maintain customers' trust and confidence.

Dong said the company values both domestic customers and global buyers. She noted that over 600 million Gree air conditioners worldwide have been in use for more than 10 years, and the company is now offering a trade-in service to consumers globally.

"More than a decade ago, when people talked about 'made in China', what did they think of? Products with low price and low quality. At the same time, we also know that in some countries, the products they made for domestic use are of good quality, and the products they export to other countries aren't as good and are made with different standards. We strive to make all our products with the same standards around the world. We want all consumers to enjoy the most advanced technology, and hold ourselves to the highest standards," said Dong.

Chinese manufacturers highlight technology, quality for brands going global