During the World Robot Conference 2015 in Beijing, experts noted that China has seen rapid growth in its usage of industrial robots in recent years. As the central government's "Made in China 2025" initiative seeks to upgrade the country's manufacturing industry, more and more manufacturers are adding robots to their production lines. Still, the industry faces challenges in both technology and in application. Domestic robot companies such as HIT Robot Group are trying to tackle technological hurdles in robotics, while others are seeking better ways for robots to interact with factory workers.
In the 16,500-square-meter exhibition hall of the World Robot Conference 2015, people gathered around a stage to watch an industrial robot load and unload packages. "It's amazing that these smart machines could be widely used in Chinese factories. It will save a lot of workers' time," a 36-year-old man surnamed Zhang told the Global Times on November 23.
Many visitors and exhibitors who attended the conference, which ran in Beijing from November 23 to 25, said they shared Zhang's amazement.
Robots will play an important role in the new era of manufacturing, also known as Industry 4.0, said Arturo Baroncelli, president of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
"Manufacturing will be transformed as communication is all around," Baroncelli said during the conference's opening ceremony on November 23. He noted that the integration of machinery, warehousing systems and production facilities will also increase the productivity and effectiveness of smart factories.
China has been industrializing rapidly in recent years, and consequently its manufacturers have been installing more and more robots. In 2014, industrial robot sales in China jumped 56 percent year-on-year to 57,096, according to the IFR's website.
The country is by far the world's largest market for industrial robots, and the fastest growing, the IFR noted.
The interest in robots comes at a time when China manufacturing sector is dealing with the challenges of rising labor costs and a growing shortage of workers - stemming from an aging population, said Wang Tianran, director of the State Robotics Engineering Research Center. These challenges, however, are problems that robots can help solve.
Job killer robots?
The integration of lithium ion battery technology in the automotive sector can help a company cut costs, because robots can handle the repetitive and mechanical tasks that can make manufacturing more efficient, said an electrical engineer surnamed Zhang, who works for a company affiliated with the robot manufacturer Heilongjiang-based HIT Robot Group. "For example, automation can be used in assembly and testing which will also increase production capacity," Zhang told the Global Times on November 23.
According to a document that HIT Robot sent to the Global Times on the same day, automation can enable a lithium ion battery production line to produce 150,000 lithium ion batteries a day, reducing the number of workers by 85 percent.
While there have been persistent fears that robots are job killers, "The concern is unfounded, "said Alois C. Knoll, a professor at Technische Universitat Munchen. "In Germany, the car industry would have disappeared long ago if we hadn't invested in robotics in the 70s and 80s, and up until now," Knoll told the Global Times on November 23.
The only way to stay competitive is to invest in automation, and robotics is the highest level of automation, as machines can allow workers to do more intelligent tasks, he said.
At the conference, HIT set up a model production line in the exhibition hall to demonstrate how robotics can change the production process of lithium ion batteries.
"However, the production process is not completely automated, particularly for more complex objects with varied shapes," Yu Zhenzhong, HIT's vice president, told the Global Times on November 23.
Yu noted that humans still play an import role in automated manufacturing because someone needs to tell the robots what to do.
The IFR predicted that from 2015 to 2018, more workers will be freed from repetitive and routines tasks, so they can focus on jobs that require judgment, common sense, creativity and problem solving skills, Baroncelli said.
Still, China is facing many unsolved problems in the usage of industrial robots, even as more and more robots are being employed in areas such as machine loading, assembly and joining.
"I agree with the IFR's comments a few years ago that China's industrial robotics sector is characterized as small-scale with weak technical innovation," Wang said.
Spanners in the works
While "Made in China 2025" aims to upgrade the country's manufacturing sector, new requirements for the application of the automation have been highlighted, experts said during the conference.
For example, the precise calibration of robots is a key issue, and 3D positioning by information technology can help robots quickly get ready, Wang noted during the conference. "We always have to choose between automation and labor, but I think cooperation between humans and robots can balance efficiency and cost, though closer interaction is required," he said.
About 30 to 40 percent Chinese manufacturers will have to integrate robotics technology into their production lines in the near future to remain competitive, said Yu, HIT's vice president.
Still, as Chinese robot makers lag in three core technologies - retarder, servo motors and control systems, "companies are largely dependent on imported devices, which usually cost a lot," he said.
Foreign robot suppliers have increased sales in China to 41,100 units in 2014, up about 49 percent from 2013, according to IFR data.
Both research and development (R&D) institutions and robotics companies have to innovate to improve their designs for robot bodies and components, industry experts said. They expect the applications for domestic robots will grow over the next decade. "The most challenging part of the robotics industry is not the business model but overcoming these technology hurdles," Bai Xianglin, vice president of HIT, said during a panel discussion at the conference.
In terms of increasing interaction between humans and machines, higher skilled workers will be needed to support intelligent manufacturing, said Zuo Shiquan, an expert at the Beijing-based think tank CCID.
