China recently revealed its bold ambitions to produce humanoid robots of ” Advanced level » for 2025, a plan that is generating great interest around the world. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last week published a roadmap of its plans in this area. Although many details remain to be revealed, China is highlighting the “disruptive” power of its robots, announcing that they will be as revolutionary as smartphones.
In an ambitious document released recently, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology claimed that these robots “rshape the world“. By 2025, the product is expected to have reached a ” Advanced level » and be ready to be mass-produced, in accordance with the development goals set out in its roadmap. China clearly shows its intention to keep up with the frenetic pace of global technological innovation.
The document has been described as ” short on details, but grandiose in its ambitions” from Bloomberg. However, some Chinese companies appear to be taking the country’s robotics ambitions seriously. For example, Chinese startup Fourier Intelligence announced that it will begin mass production of its GR-1 humanoid robot later this year. It plans to deliver thousands of robots by 2024, capable of moving at 5 kilometers per hour and carrying 50 kilograms, according to the South China Morning Post. This progress shows that China is well on its way to realizing its ambitions in the field of robotics.
China is not alone in intensifying its efforts to mass-produce humanoid robots. In the United States, Agility Robotics plans to open a robot factory in Oregon later this year, where it plans to produce hundreds of bipedal robots capable of mimicking human movements such as walking, crouching and carrying packages. Amazon is currently testing Agility Robotics’ Digit robot at a research and development center near Seattle to automate its warehouses. However, this initiative is still in its pilot phase, and Agility Robotics CEO Damion Shelton plans a gradual adoption of Digit.
Even auto giant Tesla has entered the race with its own humanoid robot called Optimus, or Tesla Bot, as revealed by Elon Musk in 2021. However, there is still a lot of work to be done before it can mass produce this Musk said at Tesla’s AI Day 2022 event that this was the first time the prototype walked “unsupported.”
