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A humanoid robot is an intelligent robot with a body structure and movement similar to humans (such as bipedal walking, coordinated hand movements, etc.). Humanoid robots should be able to "work in human work and living environments, operate tools and equipment designed for humans, and interact with humans."
Whether in science fiction novels or in movies and TV shows, people have never stopped imagining the era of humanoid robots. With the advancement of technology and the deepening application, the trend of cross-integration of robot industry technology is gradually becoming clear.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots", proposing that by 2025, China's innovation system for humanoid robots will be initially established, key technologies such as "brain, cerebellum, and limbs" will achieve breakthroughs, and ensure the safe and effective supply of core component parts; by 2027, the innovation capability of humanoid robot technology will be significantly enhanced, a safe and reliable industrial chain supply chain system will be formed, a globally competitive industrial ecosystem will be constructed, and comprehensive strength will reach the world's advanced level.
Humanoid robots integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, high-end manufacturing, and new materials, and are expected to become a disruptive product following computers, smartphones, and new energy vehicles, with great development potential and broad application prospects, becoming a new track for future industries.
The "Guiding Opinions" deploys 5 tasks: in terms of breakthroughs in key technologies, it aims to create the "brain" and "cerebellum" of humanoid robots, break through key "limb" technologies, and improve the technological innovation system. In terms of product cultivation, it aims to create complete machine products, solidify basic component parts, and promote software innovation. In terms of expanding scenarios, it aims to serve the needs of special fields, create typical scenarios for the manufacturing industry, and accelerate the promotion in people's livelihood and key industries. In terms of ecological construction, it aims to cultivate high-quality enterprises, improve innovation carriers and open environments, and promote the development of industrial agglomeration. In terms of support capabilities, it aims to improve the industrial standard system, enhance inspection, testing, and pilot verification capabilities, and strengthen safety governance capabilities.
The "Guiding Opinions" also sets up 3 columns, including key technology research, key products and component research, and expanded scenario applications, to ensure that all tasks are implemented.
The "Guiding Opinions" are as follows (scroll up and down to view the full text):
Notice on Issuing the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots"
MIIT Science [2023] No. 193
Departments in charge of industry and information technology in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and industrial and information technology authorities of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, relevant industry associations, and enterprises:
Now we are issuing the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots" to you. Please implement it conscientiously in light of the actual situation.
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, October 20, 2023
Guiding Opinions on the Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots
Humanoid robots integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, high-end manufacturing, and new materials, and are expected to become a disruptive product following computers, smartphones, and new energy vehicles. They will profoundly change the way humans produce and live, reshape the global industrial development pattern. Currently, humanoid robot technology is evolving rapidly, becoming a new high ground for technological competition, a new track for future industries, and a new engine for economic development, with great development potential and broad application prospects. In order to promote the high-quality development of the humanoid robot industry, cultivate and form new productive forces, empower high-level new industrialization, and provide strong support for the construction of a modern industrial system, these guiding opinions are formulated.
I. Overall Train of Thought
(I) Guiding Ideology
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, coordinate development and security, take breakthroughs in large-scale artificial intelligence technologies such as models as the lead, adhere to the path of application traction, whole-machine drive, software-hardware synergy, and ecological cultivation, adopt a hierarchical approach to technology, generational approach to products, and phased approach to tasks, leverage the advantages of a complete range of manufacturing industries, rich application scenarios, a huge market scale, and a new type of national system, and accelerate the innovative development of China's humanoid robot industry, providing support for building a strong manufacturing country, a strong network country, and a digital China.
(II) Development Goals
By 2025, the innovation system for humanoid robots will be initially established, key technologies such as "brain, cerebellum, and limbs" will achieve breakthroughs, and the safe and effective supply of core component parts will be ensured. The whole-machine products will reach the international advanced level and achieve mass production, demonstrating exemplary applications in special, manufacturing, and livelihood service scenarios, and exploring effective governance mechanisms and means. Cultivate 2-3 globally influential ecological enterprises and a group of specialized, sophisticated, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, create 2-3 industrial development agglomeration areas, and nurture and pioneer a group of new businesses, new models, and new formats.
By 2027, the innovation capability of humanoid robot technology will be significantly enhanced, a safe and reliable industrial chain supply chain system will be formed, a globally competitive industrial ecosystem will be constructed, and comprehensive strength will reach the world's advanced level. The industry will accelerate its scale development, the application scenarios will be more diverse, related products will be deeply integrated into the real economy, and become an important new engine for economic growth.
II. Breakthrough in Key Technologies
(I) Creating the "Brain" and "Cerebellum" of Humanoid Robots
Develop the "brain" of humanoid robots based on large-scale artificial intelligence models, enhance environmental perception, behavior control, and human-machine interaction capabilities, and promote the coordinated deployment of cloud and edge intelligent systems. Build a large-scale model training database, innovate methods for automatic data annotation, cleaning, and usage, and expand high-quality multimodal data. Scientifically layout the computing power of humanoid robots, accelerate the iteration of large-scale model training and product applications. Develop the "cerebellum" for controlling the motion of humanoid robots, build a motion control algorithm library, and establish a network control system architecture. Build simulation systems and training environments for specific application scenarios, accelerate the pace of technological iteration, and reduce innovation costs.
(II) Breakthrough in Key "Limb" Technologies
Make good use of existing robot technology foundations, systematically deploy a group of key technologies for "robotic limbs," innovate the basic theory of human motion mechanics, create humanoid mechanical arms, dexterous hands, and legs, and break through technologies such as lightweight and rigid-flexible coupling design, coordinated whole-body motion control, and dynamic grasping and dexterous operations of arms. Tackle the key technologies of "robotic body," break through lightweight skeletons, high-strength main body structures, high-precision sensors, and develop highly integrated, long-endurance humanoid robot power units and energy management technologies.
(III) Improving the Technological Innovation System
Build a complete technological innovation system for the manufacturing of humanoid robots, refine lists of key technologies, materials, enterprises, manufacturing equipment, quality, standards, key software, etc., and accurately promote "shortcomings and strengths." Support leading enterprises to lead joint industry, academia, research, and application consortia, strengthen key technology and product research, and gather forces from all parties to accelerate the innovation process. Accelerate the integration of humanoid robots with metaverse, brain-computer interfaces, and other cutting-edge technologies, and explore interdisciplinary and cross-domain innovation models.
Column 1: Breakthrough in Key Technologies
Key Technology Group for Robot "Brain." Focus on the perception and control of humanoid robots in dynamic open environments, break through end-to-end universal large-scale models for perception-decision-control, large-scale data set management, cloud-edge integrated computing architecture, multimodal perception, and environmental modeling technologies, improve the human-machine-environment fusion interaction capabilities of humanoid robots, and support the application of full-scenario landing.
Key Technology Group for Robot "Cerebellum." For tasks such as humanoid robots' complex terrain passage and coordinated fine operations, conduct research on high-fidelity system modeling and simulation, multi-body dynamics modeling and online behavior control, typical biomimetic motion behavior characterization, and autonomous learning of coordinated whole-body motion in unstructured environments, enhance the robust mobility, dexterous operation, and human-machine interaction capabilities of humanoid robots in non-structured environments.
Key Technology Group for Robot Limbs. For the high dynamic, high burst, and high precision motion performance requirements of humanoid robots, research the basic theory of human biomechanics and motion mechanisms, humanoid robot dynamics models and control, break through key technologies such as rigid-flexible coupling biomimetic transmission mechanisms, and design compact robotic limb structures, laying a solid hardware foundation for the flexible motion of humanoid robots.
Key Technology Group for Robot Body. For the high-strength and compact body structure requirements of humanoid robots, research key technologies such as AI-driven skeleton structure topology optimization, high-strength lightweight new materials, complex body structure additive manufacturing, integrated design of energy-structure-perception, and protection in harsh environments, creating a humanoid robot body structure with high safety, reliability, and environmental adaptability.
III. Cultivating Key Products
(I) Creating Complete Machine Products
Create basic version complete machines, build a universal complete machine platform for humanoid robots, and support the development of personalized functions in the future. Develop humanoid robot complete machine products for different application scenario needs, such as low-cost interactive, high-precision, and highly reliable types for extreme environments. Introduce electric, hydraulic, or hybrid-driven humanoid robots according to different power requirements. Strengthen the mass production manufacturing capabilities of humanoid robot complete machines, and continuously improve the quality and reliability of complete machine products.
- **(II) Solidify Basic Component Parts** Focus on specialized sensors for humanoid robots, breakthroughs in high-precision sensing key technologies such as vision, hearing, force, and smell, and enhance comprehensive environmental perception capabilities. Develop high-power density actuators to meet the high-burst movement and high-precision operation requirements of the body. Develop specialized chips for humanoid robots to enhance computational efficiency in motion control, cognitive decision-making, etc. In line with the development trend of new energy products, research and develop high-energy-efficient special power components suitable for the characteristics of humanoid robots. - **(III) Promote Software Innovation** Build a specialized operating system with high real-time, reliability, and intelligence for humanoid robots, promote deep integration with general large-scale models and provide a safe, stable, and user-friendly system platform. Develop application software for various scenarios, establish a complete humanoid robot application development platform and toolkit, and build a rich software-enabled application ecosystem. Explore a new model of "robot as a service" to accelerate the low-cost, flexible deployment of humanoid robots. - **Column 2: Key Product and Component Research** - **Basic Version Whole Machine** - Establish a basic hardware and software architecture for humanoid robots with basic functional capabilities such as humanoid appearance, bipedal walking, and dexterous operation of both arms and hands. Build a "public version" universal platform to support structural modifications, algorithm optimization, and specific capability enhancements for different scenario requirements. - **Functional Version Whole Machine** - Develop low-cost interactive humanoid robots, enhance adaptability to human living environments, and multimodal human-robot interaction capabilities. Develop high-precision humanoid robots, strengthen upper limb operation capabilities such as dexterous operation of both arms and hands, robust workpiece recognition, and intelligent trajectory planning. Develop high-reliability humanoid robots, enhance survival in harsh environments, adaptation to complex terrains, and protection against external forces. - **Sensors** - Develop specialized sensors for humanoid robots, including high-precision vision sensors with integrated biomimetic eyes and brain-like processing algorithms, wideband, highly sensitive biomimetic auditory sensors, high-resolution electronic skin with multi-point contact detection capabilities, and highly sensitive biomimetic olfactory sensors for detecting various gases, forming a product line of specialized sensors for humanoid robots. - **Actuators** - Breakthrough high-power density hydraulic servo actuators, create a series of high-compact hydraulic motors, cylinders, pumps, valves, and integrated units. Develop high-precision electric drive actuators integrating high-torque density reducers, high-power density motors, and servo drives, creating electrically driven rotary joints and pushrod products. - **Controllers** - Develop specialized chips with high dynamic motion drive and high-speed communication functions for high real-time coordinated motion control requirements. Research intelligent chips with multimodal spatial perception, behavior planning modeling, and autonomous learning capabilities for humanoid robot cognition and decision-making, enhancing coordinated control capabilities. - **Power Sources** - Breakthroughs in key technologies such as high-energy density batteries, intelligent power management, and battery pack optimization and matching, developing high-energy-efficient and compact power source assemblies to enhance the endurance and environmental adaptability of humanoid robots. - **Four: Expand Scenario Applications** - **(I) Serve Specialized Field Needs** - Accelerate the application of humanoid robots in special environments, strengthen the capabilities of body control, fast movement, and precise perception in complex environments, and create high-reliability solutions for humanoid robots in special application scenarios. - **(II) Create Typical Manufacturing Scenarios** - Focus on key areas in manufacturing such as 3C and automotive industries, enhance the tool operation and task execution capabilities of humanoid robots, and implement deep applications in typical manufacturing scenarios. - **(III) Accelerate Promotion in Livelihood and Key Industries** - Expand the application of humanoid robots in areas such as healthcare and household services, focusing on improving human-robot interaction reliability and safety, and developing solutions with complex area guidance, flexible operation, robust walking, and multimodal human-robot interaction to meet high-quality life needs. Promote the landing of humanoid robots in key industries such as agriculture and logistics, enhancing human-robot interaction, dexterous grasping, sorting, handling, and intelligent distribution capabilities. - **Column 3: Expand Scenario Applications** - **Conduct Pilot Demonstrations** - Organize humanoid robot innovation tasks, explore paths and models to empower the manufacturing industry, select outstanding achievements for pilot applications, and conduct regular evaluations. Cultivate a group of high-quality solutions based on industry-specific scenarios, select benchmark applications, and promote the landing of new humanoid robot technologies and products. - **Strengthen Supply-Demand Integration** - Build a platform to connect humanoid robots with traditional manufacturing enterprises and industrial parks, organize precise service connections between humanoid robot companies and demand, and strengthen upstream-downstream collaboration in the industrial chain, promoting standard mutual recognition, product matching, and collaborative research and development in the unified national market. - **Accelerate Results Transformation** - Establish an industrialization service platform for humanoid robot innovation achievements, build a group of humanoid robot achievement incubation and innovation centers, accelerate the transfer and application of common technologies, improve the engineering efficiency of humanoid robots, and promote the large-scale landing of mature products and solutions. Hold achievement exhibitions to promote industry-academia-research cooperation. - **Improve Application Mechanisms** - Deeply explore specific scenarios and promote the large-scale application of common scenarios, regularly select and publish typical application scenario lists and recommended catalogs. Encourage key industries and regions to actively explore open application scenarios, develop new models, services, and formats, and explore technology innovation and research and development modes for application scenarios, enhancing the deep integration of technology and scenarios. - **Five: Create an Industry Ecosystem** - **(I) Cultivate High-Quality Enterprises** - Strengthen the position of enterprise innovation, cultivate humanoid robot "chain-leading" enterprises with ecological leadership and global competitiveness, promote the aggregation of industry innovation resources. Intensify support for the cultivation of high-quality enterprises in component matching, specialized integration, and scenario applications for humanoid robots, stimulate the emergence of a group of specialized and innovative "hidden champions" enterprises, manufacturing single champions, and unicorn enterprises. Promote the coordinated development of large, medium, and small enterprises, create a favorable environment for enterprise growth, and build a safe and reliable industrial ecosystem. - **(II) Improve Innovation Carriers and Open Environments** - Support the establishment of humanoid robot key laboratories and manufacturing innovation centers, gather strengths from industry, academia, and research, and enhance the supply capacity of key common technologies. Establish industry organizations such as the Hundred-Person Association for humanoid robots, promote technology exchange, supply-demand integration, international cooperation, and deepen the integration of innovation chains, industry chains, capital chains, and talent chains. Build a humanoid robot open source community, promote the construction of open source foundation capabilities, strengthen support for key enterprise open source projects, and gather global developers for collaborative innovation. - **(III) Promote Industry Agglomeration Development** - Guide the convergence of humanoid robot innovation elements to regions with good foundations and great potential, establish incubators and industrial parks based on local characteristics and industrial advantages, create advantageous agglomeration areas with strong innovation capabilities and excellent application scenarios, and promote the aggregation development of the upstream and downstream of the industry chain. Build an industrial collaborative ecosystem, promote cross-domain cooperation among companies in robotics, artificial intelligence, new materials, etc., conduct joint research and development of technology applications, enhance software-hardware coordination and adaptation capabilities, and improve the resilience of the industrial chain and supply chain. - **Six: Strengthen Support Capabilities** - **(I) Improve Industrial Standard System** - Conduct research on the standardization roadmap for humanoid robots, comprehensively review the standardization needs of the industry chain, establish and improve the industrial standard system for humanoid robots, and promote the formulation of national standards, industry standards, and group standards. Promote the implementation of standards and facilitate standardization. Actively participate in the formulation of international standards. - **(II) Enhance Inspection, Testing, and Pilot Verification Capabilities** - Develop inspection and testing methods for humanoid robot products, establish a key indicator system for intelligent, reliable, and safe critical parameters, and build an implementable, measurable, and scalable evaluation benchmark. Build authoritative inspection and testing institutions, improve evaluation support tools, meet the testing and certification needs of enterprises and users. Support enterprises in jointly building humanoid robot pilot verification platforms with universities and research institutes, strengthen software-hardware coupling, provide services such as pilot maturity, engineering development, process improvement, and software upgrades, accelerate the engineering landing and industrial application of related technological achievements, and promote product quality improvement. - **(III) Strengthen Safety Governance Capabilities** - Enhance the functional safety performance of humanoid robots, ensure that related technology products are friendly to humans and the environment. Strengthen network security protection, improve information acquisition, data exchange, and data security technology support capabilities. Strengthen safety risk assessment in key areas such as the entire machine, key components, core software, algorithms, and promote safety capability enhancement. Deepen the judgment of scientific and technological ethics risks, accelerate the formulation of relevant ethical standards and norms, and promote the coordinated development of technological innovation and scientific and technological ethics. - **Seven: Guarantee Measures**- **(I) Strengthen Overall Coordination** - Strengthen inter-departmental coordination to promote technological breakthroughs, industrial development, integrated applications, and safety governance, and promote the integration and development of humanoid robots with artificial intelligence, robotics, and other fields. Deepen cooperation between the central and local governments, optimize industrial layout, encourage localities to formulate targeted and feasible policy measures based on local conditions to promote technological innovation and industrial development of humanoid robots. - **(II) Improve Industrial Policies** - Promote the implementation of the humanoid robot innovation project, increase investment in key tasks such as specialized software, core components, complete machines, and application demonstrations. Utilize funds for manufacturing industry transformation and upgrading to guide industrial capital and financial capital to actively participate. Utilize the national industry-finance cooperation platform to support leading enterprises in listing financing and promote the formation of a virtuous cycle of "technology-industry-finance." Organize humanoid robot competitions, exhibitions, and other activities to stimulate innovation across various sectors. - **(III) Accelerate Talent Cultivation** - Strengthen the training of professionals in humanoid robot-related disciplines, encourage collaboration between humanoid robot companies and higher education institutions, research institutes, etc., innovate collaborative education models, jointly cultivate interdisciplinary and engineering talents, and enhance the supply of high-level talents. Strengthen vocational education, technical retraining, etc., to cultivate industry application-oriented talents. Strengthen the overseas exchange and introduction of high-end talents, improve the talent service system, and ensure the attraction and retention of talents. - **(IV) Deepen Exchange and Cooperation** - Expand the international cooperation space for humanoid robots, gather global innovation resources, strengthen industrial development exchanges, encourage foreign companies and institutions to establish research and development centers, manufacturing bases, etc., in China, and promote the internationalization of the industry. Encourage domestic companies to go global, promote new technologies and products to enter the international market, and expand cross-border business. Actively participate in the formulation of international rules and standards, contributing Chinese wisdom to the global development of the humanoid robot industry. The "Opinions" for the first time provide a comprehensive plan for humanoid robot technology, including key technologies, applicable scenarios, and clear goals for three to five years. More crucially, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has given a clear positioning for the humanoid robot industry. Which technologies are crucial for the evolution of humanoid robot technology? The "Opinions" provide four aspects: the key technology group for the robot "brain," the key technology group for the "cerebellum," the key technology group for robot limbs, and the key technology group for robot bodies. It is worth noting that the "Opinions" also explicitly require the cultivation of 2-3 globally influential ecological enterprises and a group of specialized and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, the creation of 2-3 industrial development agglomeration areas, and the incubation of a batch of new businesses, new models, and new formats. It also requires a focus on key areas in manufacturing such as 3C and automotive industries, enhancing the tool operation and task execution capabilities of humanoid robots, and implementing deep applications in typical manufacturing scenarios. In China, many manufacturers have recently unveiled humanoid robots. On October 24th, Xiaopeng released its first humanoid robot, PX5. The robot walked onto the stage and waved without any assistance, completing its debut. The video shows that the Xiaopeng humanoid robot can walk over obstacles, play soccer, balance on a scooter, pour water, grab tissues, and pick up items. On the same day, iFlytek also unveiled its humanoid robot at its 1024 Developer Festival. In January last year, iFlytek launched the "iFlytek Super Brain 2030 Plan," which is its first long-term plan to enter the field of robotics. According to this plan, by 2025-2030, it aims to create companion robots with knowledge, learning, and evolutionary capabilities, enabling robots to interact and move independently, and promoting robots to enter households. BYD has invested in Zhiyuan Robotics, its first publicly announced investment project in the field of humanoid robots. Not long ago, Zhiyuan Robotics released the first-generation general-purpose humanoid bipedal robot "Expedition A1." This 175cm tall, 53kg humanoid robot can participate in appearance inspection processes, assemble chassis, and perform tasks on busy automobile assembly lines. Shanghai Zhiyuan New Creation Technology Co., Ltd. was established in February this year, with business scope including the development of intelligent robots, artificial intelligence theory and algorithm software development, artificial intelligence hardware sales, and electronic product sales. At the same time, an increasing number of university research institutions and incubation companies are transitioning humanoid robots from the laboratory to commercial applications. One of the reasons behind this is the development of artificial intelligence large-scale model technology, which provides technological support for the industrial landing of humanoid robots. [Attached images were not translated.]
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