+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

China boldly claims it has a plan to mass produce humanoid robots that can 'reshape the world' within two years

Nov 7, 2023, 02:27 IST
Business Insider
Tesla unveiled its Optimus humanoid robot prototype in 2021. It remains to be seen whether China's plans could rival it.VCG/ Getty Images
  • China revealed its bold plans to mass produce "advanced-level" humanoid robots by 2025.
  • The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a roadmap of its plans last week.
Advertisement

China revealed ambitious plans to mass produce humanoid robots, which it believes will be as "disruptive" as smartphones.

In an ambitious blueprint document published last week, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the robots would "reshape the world."

The MIIT believes that by 2025, the product would have reached "advanced level" and be mass produced. It made the statements in the development goals listed in its roadmap.

"They are expected to become disruptive products after computers, smartphones, and new energy vehicles," a translation of the document added.

Per Bloomberg, the document was "short on details but big on ambition." However, some Chinese companies are seemingly helping to tackle the country's robotic ambitions in earnest.

Advertisement

For example, Chinese startup Fourier Intelligence said it would start mass producing its GR-1 humanoid robot by the end of this year, South China Morning Post reported. The Shanghai-based company told the publication it aspired to deliver thousands of robots in 2024 that can move at five kilometers an hour and carry 50 kilograms.

It's not the only humanoid robot-maker that's ramping up its efforts with the goal of mass production. US-based Agility Robotics is opening a robot factory in Oregon later this year, where it plans to build hundreds of its bipedal robots that can mimic human movements like walking, crouching, and carrying packages.

Amazon is testing Agility Robotics' Digit robot at a research and development center near Seattle to see how it can be used to automate its warehouses, but it's only in the pilot phase.

Agility Robotics CEO Damion Shelton told Insider: "In the near term, we expect a slow and steady uptick of Digit deployments." He added: "We believe mass integration will eventually occur, but bipedal robots are still a relatively new advancement."

Even Tesla is developing its own humanoid robots called Optimus, or Tesla Bot, as Elon Musk revealed in 2021. However, it still has a long way to go before it's ready for mass production as Musk said at a Tesla AI Day event in 2022 that it was the first time the prototype had walked "without any support" when it walked onto the stage.

Advertisement


You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article