Shanghai authorities have set a goal of deploying 8,000 humanoid robots in factories by 2028, as competition among countries and cities to become artificial intelligence hubs intensifies.
Shanghai announced the official launch of an action plan to accelerate next-generation smart manufacturing at the opening ceremony of the 26th China International Industry Fair, which began the previous day, Chinese media including The Paper reported on the 13th. The plan aims to deepen the convergence of AI and manufacturing and to build a next-generation smart manufacturing system at speed.
The plan consists of four projects and 19 core tasks. The four projects cover strengthening the supply of next-generation intelligent manufacturing, driving innovation based on the convergence of AI and manufacturing, fostering intelligent factories, and building a next-generation intelligent manufacturing ecosystem. More specifically, Shanghai said it will develop 500 advanced smart factories by 2028, expand AI application scenarios in manufacturing to more than 2,000, and roll out 300 high-level AI agents. It also said it will raise industrial robot density to about 600 units per 10,000 people and push to put 8,000 humanoid robots into factories. Through these steps, the city aims to grow its new smart manufacturing equipment industry to 200 billion yuan (about 40 trillion won) and its smart manufacturing system integration industry to 100 billion yuan (about 20 trillion won).
Shanghai already operates 30 intelligent factories, including two of national flagship grade, the most of any Chinese city. Its intelligent manufacturing system integration industry has surpassed 60 billion yuan in scale and output of intelligent manufacturing equipment has topped 150 billion yuan, making the city China's largest cluster for intelligent manufacturing system integration and equipment.
Wang Xingxing, chairman of robot maker Unitree, said the tipping point for physical AI could arrive within one to two years. "GPT-7, if released next year, could directly solve physical AI's remaining problems," he said, referring to OpenAI's latest AI model.
The fair drew more than 3,200 companies and featured nearly 300 advanced technologies and products making their debut, with a separate exhibition space devoted to integrated circuits for the first time. However, a Chinese-made deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machine that had attracted attention was not put on display. Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment is known to have developed China's first advanced DUV lithography system together with Chinese optics firm Yuliangsheng, and a company official declined an interview request, appearing cautious, Taiwan's Economic Daily News reported.
One Humanoid Every 10 Minutes as China's Physical AI Gathers Pace
China is also speeding up humanoid robot production to match the era of intelligent manufacturing. Last month, a plant capable of producing more than 10,000 industrial humanoid robots a year, or one every 10 minutes, began operating in China for the first time in the world. The plant also makes active use of humanoid robots and unmanned vehicles to create an environment in which robots build robots.
UBTECH, a Chinese humanoid robot developer, has begun operating a smart manufacturing plant for humanoid robots with annual capacity of 10,000 units in Liuzhou, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China's state-run English-language newspaper Global Times reported on the 15th of last month.
The plant mainly produces UBTECH's Walker S and Cruzr robot lines. Siemens Digital Industries Software also took part in building the smart factory. The company said the plant has moved beyond small-volume and pilot production of humanoid robots into a new stage of large-scale smart manufacturing by realizing a model in which robots make robots.
China's industrial robot output is rising sharply. Output reached 98,677 units in July, up 30.2% from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Production from January through July totaled 635,056 units, a 28.5% increase from the same period a year earlier.