As robots have become ubiquitous, what was once depicted in science fiction is now becoming a reality.

On the last working day of 2023, UBTECH ROBOTICS was officially listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. As of June 30th, 2023, UBTECH ROBOTICS has served over 50 countries and regions worldwide, with more than 900 corporate clients and sales of over 760,000 robots.

What is the development of the robotics industry in China? Data shows that in 2022, the sales volume of industrial robots in China reached 297,000 units, making it the world's largest consumer market for industrial robots for ten consecutive years. Sales of domestic brand industrial robots exceeded 112,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 19%, and the domestic market share reached 37.8%, the highest proportion in a year. From January to October 2023, the operating income of the robotics industry in China exceeded 130 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%; the total import and export value of robotics products reached 2.66 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 23%; the production of industrial robots reached 353,000 sets, and the production of service robots reached 6.436 million sets. The robotics industry is showing a strong trend of development.

How do robots bring changes to production and life? Robots, known as the "pearl at the top of the manufacturing industry", are accelerating their entrance into the real economy. For example, in the field of logistics, Jingdong's intelligent storage robots, wolf warehouses, have improved the picking efficiency of its Asia No.1 warehouse in Beijing by 3-5 times, with a daily shipment volume of hundreds of thousands of orders. In the field of medicine, the Harbin Institute of Technology has jointly developed a medical micro-nanorobot that mimics a Tardigrade. The robot, with a diameter of 20 micrometers, can run fast and stop in a venous blood flow of 20,000 micrometers per second…… "Robot+" is a microcosm of the integration of the robotics industry with other industries.

In the field of robotics, Guangdong, a major manufacturing province in China, has taken the lead with a large number of emerging robot manufacturers. For example, Yunzhou Tech has produced the world's first environmental monitoring unmanned ship. For every three industrial robots in China, one is made in Guangdong. Data shows that in 2022, the operating income of Guangdong's intelligent robot industry reached 61.64 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.45%; the added value reached 11.14 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.1%. Among them, the cumulative output of industrial robots in Guangdong reached 165,700 units, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%, accounting for one-third of the national output and ranking first in the country for three consecutive years.

Overseas markets have become the key to the growth of many domestic robot companies. Zhang Yi, CEO and Chief Analyst of iiMedia Research, told Yangcheng Evening News that the acceleration of logistics robot companies going overseas is due to the fact that their development and application in China have reached a nearly full stage. For example, currently, domestic logistics companies such as JD have already matured in warehousing. However, most overseas markets are still waiting to be explored, which provides a good opportunity for domestic logistics robot companies to go global.

"The listing of UBTECH ROBOTICS on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange sends a message that the field of robot applications is entering the path of commercialization. Zhang Yi emphasized that currently, there is a high demand for humanoid robots. In industries with strong labor demand and relatively harsh production environments, humanoid robots can be relied upon to liberate human labor.

It is anticipated that the entire industry requires at least five years for technological maturation. In approximately ten years hence, the humanoid robot industry shall experience an explosive surge in demand. During this era, the industry must prioritize research and development of products and technological accumulation," said Zhang Yi.

Source:Yangcheng Evening News

“人形机器人第一股”诞生，“粤字号”机器人如何抓住发展机遇？

如今，机器人已经无处不在，科幻里的机器人故事正在照进现实。

在2023年的最后一个工作日，深圳市优必选科技股份有限公司正式登陆港交所主板。截止到2023年6月30日，优必选已服务全球50多个国家和地区，拥有900多家企业客户，并已售出超76万台机器人。

中国机器人产业发展状况如何？数据显示，2022年，中国工业机器人市场销量达到29.7万台，连续十年成为全球最大工业机器人消费市场；自主品牌工业机器人销售超过11.2万台，同比增长19%，国内市场占有率达37.8%，是占比最高的一年。2023年1-10月，中国机器人产业营业收入超过1300亿元，同比增长9.3%；机器人产品进出口总额达26.6亿美元，同比增长23%；工业机器人产量达到了35.3万套，服务机器人产量达到了643.6万套，机器人产业整体呈现旺盛的发展势头。

机器人如何为生产生活带来变革？有“制造业皇冠顶端的明珠”称誉的机器人正在加速拥抱实体经济。例如，在物流领域，天狼、地狼机器人让京东北京亚洲一号拣选效率提升3-5倍，每天出货量达几十万单；在医疗领域，哈工大联合开发一种仿水熊虫医用微纳机器人，直径20微米的机器人可在20000微米/秒的静脉血流环境中“跑得快”“停得住”……“机器人+”正是机器人产业与千行百业融合的一个缩影。

在机器人“赛道”上，制造业大省广东已先行布局，一大批机器人制造新秀也在崛起。例如，造出世界第一艘环境监测无人船的云洲智能等。全国每3台工业机器人就有1台“广东造”。数据显示，2022年，广东省智能机器人产业营业收入实现616.4亿元，同比增长15.45%；实现增加值111.4亿元，同比增长12.1%。其中，广东工业机器人累计产量16.57万台（套），同比增长2.1%，占全国产量三分之一，连续三年稳居全国第一。

海外市场已成为众多国产机器人企业业绩增长的“关键词”。艾媒咨询CEO兼首席分析师张毅向羊城晚报记者分析称，物流机器人企业加速出海的背后，是其在国内的发展应用水平已经到达了一个阶段；目前国内京东等物流企业的仓储已经很成熟了，而海外市场大部分还处于真空地带，这给了国内物流机器人公司“走出去”一个很好的窗口期。

“‘人形机器人第一股’优必选在港交所上市，释放出一个信息，就是机器人应用领域进入到商业化道路。”张毅强调，目前，人形机器人的市场需求很大，在工业领域，劳动力需求旺盛的行业和生产环境相对恶劣的行业，都可以依靠人形机器人的力量来让人力得以解放。

“预计目前整个行业还需要至少5年的技术沉淀期，大概10年后，人形机器人行业会迎来大规模需求的井喷期。在这个期间，行业要做的就是集中火力进行产品研发和技术积累。”张毅说。

文、图｜记者 许张超 杭莹 沈婷婷
翻译｜白心怡