Chilling rise of Chinese humanoids with a call for one in every house and droid army
HUMANOID robots could be brought to ordinary people’s homes “soon,” according to a new robotics center in Beijing.
The robots, which use AI and resemble human bodies in shape, are expected to help China advance in its technology war with the US.
5
5
Month-old robotics center Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center has so far provided minimal details about its latest project to release a prototype humanoid robot for general use.
But it assured that the robot will be created “soon.” South China Morning Mail reports.
The machines are expected to replenish China’s shrinking workforce as the vast economy looks to upgrade its growth engines with new technology-led “productive forces.”
An unnamed source from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center told the Beijing Youth Daily: “It is the dream of every humanoid robot company to bring humanoid robots into thousands of households.”
It comes amid China’s fierce ongoing technology war with the United States, and as China faces serious demographic challenges – including a rapidly aging population – and a real estate market crisis.
The center was reportedly established late last year and includes both private and state-owned robot manufacturers.
A source described as a “responsible person” said leading robotics industry experts and researchers at the center were seeking “a common technological platform, public service platform and regulatory standards for the humanoid robot industry.”
They added: “In the future, humanoid robots may enter the automotive industry, 3C manufacturing (computer, communications and consumer electronics) and other fields, further improving the industrial production level.”
There are fears that humanoid robots could be yet another kind of “disruptive innovation” like computers, smartphones and new energy vehicles.
But China hopes to turn the humanoid robot sector into “a major new engine of economic growth” by 2027, according to the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The center’s humanoid robots are intended to be a technological convergence of artificial intelligence and new materials, and China hopes to make the country more self-reliant – and competitive with the US.
American companies such as Tesla and OpenAI-backed Figure are already working on humanoid robots.
Tesla’s $20,000 (£16,000) Optimus robot, the prototype of which was unveiled in September 2022, was expected to be mass produced within three to five years.
According to a November report from the Research Institute of People’s Daily Online, China is currently the second-largest holder of patents on humanoid robots, with 1,699, after Japan.
The MIIT announced last year its plans to mass-produce humanoid robots by 2025 – about 500 robots per 10,000 employees.
The company believes the robots will be useful for industries such as healthcare, agriculture and logistics.
New plans suggest that China could soon replace human soldiers with robots in future war scenarios.
Advanced robotic soldiers and high-tech drones are expected to be sent to complex overseas missions within the United States next one 10 years.
5
5