A humanoid robot makes slow and deliberate strokes on the paper to produce a painting. (PHOTO: VCG)

By CHEN Chunyou

In early November, a guideline on promoting humanoid robot development was released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, proposing to establish a preliminary innovation system for humanoid robots by 2025, while constructing an industrial ecology with international competitiveness before 2027.

"The humanoid robot is a future industry with vast space and great potential. It reflects the highest technological level of intelligent equipment in the world today," said Liang Liang, vice secretary-general of the Chinese Institute of Electronics, adding that humanoid robots represent a collection of the application of advanced technologies, such as AI, high-end manufacturing and new materials.

The guideline pledged to make breakthroughs in key technologies, such as humanoid robots' brain, cerebellum and limbs, while consolidating the basic components and promoting software innovation in order to cultivate key products. Meanwhile, related standards around system evaluation, industry applications and other key directions should also be formulated.

Enterprises could be pooled together to carry out technological research and development, focusing on key areas such as self-developed chips, operating systems, underlying algorithms, simulation and testing, suggested Liang.

The guideline proposed to focus on creating highly reliable, safe and stable humanoid robot solutions for special fields, manufacturing scenarios, people's livelihood and key industries.

Goldman Sachs, an international investment bank, predicts that the market for humanoid robots is expected to reach 154 billion RMB by 2035, which will provide new solutions to alleviate the labor shortage in elderly care and reduce the burden on families and society.

"As the closest robots to human form, humanoid robots can meet the needs of the production and service industries," said Hu Xiaoping, vice president of Flexiv, adding that they could provide richer human-robot interaction experiences in education, entertainment and other social spheres.

Liang suggested promoting the integration of new-generation information technology, such as AI, cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, VR and AR with humanoid robots, and accelerating the commercialization of cutting-edge research achievements.

The R&D and application of humanoid robots will correspondingly promote innovation in the field of robotics and AI, boost the growth of related industrial chains, and accelerate the formation of an industrial ecosystem.

"China has made remarkable progress in AI, computer vision, and machine learning in recent years. The guideline will help enterprises to adjust their strategies and optimize the direction of innovative R&D, and promote the progress of humanoid robot technology and the market share," said Hu.