An intelligent robot sings and dances. (Photo/Chinanews.com.cn)
(ECNS) -- China has allocated 2 billion yuan ($290 million) to the development of intelligent robots, and is set to roll out a series of supportive and guiding policies to boost the robot industry, Economic Information Daily reported, citing information from the ongoing Fourth China Robot Summit in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.
With the gradual promotion of the "Made-in-China 2025" strategy, industrial robotics has become a hot investment field in China's manufacturing sector.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has approved 2 billion yuan to support basic research, key technology R&D, and demonstrative application of intelligent robots, the paper said.
Under the innovation-driven strategy, China is making progress in developing intelligent robots, said Xu Xiaolan, secretary general of the World Robot Conference.
Qu Daokui, president of Siasun Robot & Automation Co, said "Intelligent manufacturing is our only way forward," adding that he saw a 1-trillion-yuan robot market in China.
Qu said that in the next three to five years China's robot market will concentrate on computing and sensing applications, while many experts also see opportunities for service robots, such as those able to provide home care.
The output of China's industrial robotics reached 72,400 units in 2016, up 34.3 percent from the previous year. In 2015, global sales of industrial robots hit 248,000 units, up 12 percent year-on-year, while China sold 66,700 units, accounting for more than 25 percent, making the country the biggest consumer of industrial robots for three years in a row since 2013.
By 2020, China will likely see sales of industrial robots exceed 150,000 units, with a total of 800,000 in operation, and have a relatively mature robot industry at the higher end of the value chain, the paper said.
On Tuesday, 26 deals were signed during the China Robot Summit, securing investments totaling 36.87 billion yuan, it reported.
