There is no counter-argument to the statement that China is currently at the helm of artificial intelligence-powered development in the world. The country continues to aggressively push for AI development and the range of AI-based solutions that the Chinese Technology provider rolls out each year is even more mind-boggling.

Interestingly enough, one of the emerging developments in the country which is touted to shape the future of automation and the factory floor is “cobots” or collaborative robots. The term simply refers to robots that are designed to work alongside humans. These are considered to be a breakaway from traditional autonomous robots which are designed to perform a single task and are seen as a replacement for humans.

While the biggest advantage of the cobot is its ability to learn from humans while working alongside them through demonstration and reinforcement learning, it can also multitask through constant learning. Thus, the larger fear of job loss due to automation is also addressed through large-scale deployment of the solution.

In China, over the last few years, these robots have increasingly common on factory floors leading to a sweeping change in the Chinese 3C industries (Computer, Communication and Consumer Electronics).

Owing to the presence of its thriving industry manufacturing units, the technology has proven to be more productive and the country hopes that increased activities in the field will put China in the global robotics map. Further, by pushing for increased adoption of the field, the government also hope to secure the jobs of scores of factory floor workers, who would have otherwise been rendered jobless in the wake of increased automation. In a study by Denmark-based robotics company, it stated that the Chinese cobot industry is forecasted to be at a value of $190 million by 2020.

“Advances in machine learning techniques, cost reductions in technology and cost increases in human labour are now making collaborative robots more economically viable for smaller and midsize businesses,” Lionel P. Robert Jr, associate professor at the School of Information at the University of Michigan said to an online portal.

With the market forecasted to look promising, already foreign players are entering the Chinese market in an attempt to make it big. In 2018, ABB, leading robotics announced that it will be building its most advanced robotics factory in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The company has made an investment of US$150 million where its focus will be to combine digital technologies to create state-of-the-art collaborative robots.

“There’s a large shift away from looking at factory size and CAPEX investments as the way to meet future demand. The concept behind our new factory is to make the smartest and most flexible use of every meter of production. That comes from combining agile automation solutions with the great capabilities of our people,” Per Vegard Nerseth, Managing Director of ABB’s Robotics business in a press statement.

Who are the other key players in the field

Aubo Robotics: Is a Beijing-based company, whose four collaborative robotics are known as a Cobot. It is designed to work closely within a human work-space without safety equipment, depending on a risk assessment. AUBO-series are a six-axis, 3, 5, 7, and 10 Kg payload with 625 to 1350 mm reach lightweight industrial robots made for human-centric agile manufacturing and are user-friendly, flexible, low cost and very easy to move, re-deploy and can be plugged into a regular 110 – 230 VAC wall socket to run.

Hanwha: The company’s HCR-5 is a robot designed to enhance job and productivity in the industry floor. It is flexible arms can be placed where humans can operate and where they cannot access. Its features and capabilities allow it to adopt different manufacturing processes without changing the existing production line and can handle dangerous, monotonous, or repetitive tasks.

Doosan: Though it entered in collaborative robotics market much later, the company has launched several solutions in the field. Its cobots have a load capacity of 6 to 15 kilograms and a working radius of 0.9 to 1.7 meters. It requires lower set-up and investment cost than industrial robots. Cobots can work alongside human operators without safety fences thanks to highly sensitive torque sensors.

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