(ECNS) -- Robots will be designed as better team players in future, according to industry experts attending the World Robot Conference (WRC).
"There's a debate on whether human labor is being replaced by robots. We need to see that human-robot collaboration is key to striking a balance between efficiency and cost," said Wang Tianran, director of National Engineering Research Center for Robotics at a WRC panel discussion in Beijing on Monday.
With a lowering birthrate and hiking labor costs, China is rushing to install robots. It became the world's biggest market for industrial robots since 2013. In 2014, sales rose by more than half to 56,000, according to the International Federation of Robotics.
In July, China sets up its first unmanned factory in Dongguan, Guangdong province, displacing nearly 600 workers at the plant.
Explosive sales growth is yet to come as the country launches its Manufacturing 2025 initiative. China wants to have about 100 robots for every 10,000 factory workers by 2020. The current number is about 30.
Wang said the integration of human and robot is still unsatisfactory. He explained that robots need to be able to interact with people more freely so that people can fill high-skill jobs.
It was added that service robots in particular need to strengthen their interactions with humans, as they have failed to develop as people had expected them to be 15 years ago.
"China's service robot industry is taking baby steps," said Ha Enjing, director of Brand Promotion & Public Relations at Siasun Robot & Automation. "We're endeavoring to make service robots more agile."
Siasun is one of China's leading robot manufacturers, with its industrial robots exported to over 20 countries such as the United States, South Korea, Russia and India.
At the Robot Exhibition, Siasun's robots finished a tai chi and traditional Chinese dance performance with humans, with interaction displaying room for improvement.
Michiharu Nakamura, director of Japan Science and Technology Agency, said a rapidly ageing society, more frequent disasters and violent crime pose new challenges to the future of robots.
To meet these demands, Wang said key areas of research should be AI, biosensor and human augmentation capabilities.
