Zhejiang-made robots debut at 2024 World Robot Conference, Hangzhou and Ningbo join hands in competing in the humanoid robot track
2024-08-22
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On August 21, a new humanoid robot product "Navigator 2 NAVIAI" from Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center was unveiled at the 2024 World Robot Conference. The robot's hand-eye coordination and precise operation show its unique operational capabilities.
"Compared with the 'first generation' released five months ago, the new model released this time has new changes and breakthroughs in both appearance and technical details," said Xiong Rong, director of the innovation center. The Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center is located in Ningbo, and its core personnel are from the Robotics Laboratory of Zhejiang University.
In March this year, Xiong Rong's team came to Ningbo with 18 years of scientific research theoretical foundation and practical experience. With the support of local authorities, they quickly formed a new team, and the Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center came into being. In Xiong Rong's view, the organic combination of the smart "brain" of artificial intelligence and the "body" of humanoid robots has been realized, which is due to the persistence of 18 years of hard work and the coordinated development of Hangzhou and Ningbo.
More than 80% of the innovation center's staff are R&D personnel
"The robot had just been released and many people came to visit. The center also had many things going on, so I was basically in Ningbo during this period." Xiong Rong's other identity is a professor at the School of Control Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University. When she has classes scheduled, she basically has to travel between Hangzhou and Ningbo several times a week.
In March this year, the Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center was established in Ningbo Yongshuiqiao Science and Technology Innovation Center, and immediately released the first humanoid robot product with the ability to walk on two legs and adapt to various terrains. At the innovation center, the reporter saw this robot, which can complete actions such as wiping the table, serving tea and water with simple instructions, and can even mobilize the whole body to "dance".
Compared with the "first generation", the newly released "Navigator 2 NAVIAI" is 1.65 meters tall and weighs 60 kilograms. The mechanical structure and appearance of the head, thighs, calves, feet and other parts have been greatly improved and optimized, and it has a certain degree of human-like flexible movement ability. "We have also set up a high-precision lightweight humanoid arm, which can carry a weight of 5 kilograms per arm and can work continuously for 2 hours." Xiong Rong introduced that the new robot not only has a more refined appearance, but can also be used in more complex household and industrial scenes to achieve efficient and high-precision control, such as efficient desktop sorting in messy stacking scenes and generalized sub-millimeter precision shaft hole assembly.
Humanoid robots are cross-disciplinary and require comprehensive support from AI models, algorithms, sensors, control systems, and other technologies. It is worth noting that the AI computing power of "Navigator 2 NAVIAI" reaches 275TOPS, which means it has a computing power of 275 trillion times per second. The greater the computing power, the faster the system reacts and can respond and process various computing tasks faster.
At present, more than 80% of the staff of Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center are R&D personnel, mainly from Zhejiang University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Peking University, etc. In terms of academic qualifications, master's and doctoral students account for more than 60% of all positions in the team.
The two cities work together to promote the province's robotics industry to "reach higher"
Humanoid robots are not only seen as a representative of the development of new productivity, but also a pioneer of future industries, and are expected to lead a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. Xiong Rong has been engaged in humanoid robot research for nearly 20 years. In her opinion, this industry has quietly changed: "Humanoid robots no longer exist only as prototypes for laboratory research, but are more integrated and developed with the technology chain and industrial chain."
She believes that Hangzhou has advantages in robot intelligent sensing and control technology research and whole machine system development, while Ningbo has a developed manufacturing industry and is one of the few cities in China that has a comprehensive layout of the "three major components" of reducers, controllers, and servo motors. Nowadays, the competition in the domestic humanoid robot track is fierce, and Hangzhou and Ningbo joining hands in the competition has positive significance for both cities and even the entire province.
For example, the improvement of the operating range of the robot arm and the precision of the dexterous hand involves the optimization of the "reducer", that is, the "joint" of the robot. Zhongda Lide, located in Cixi, Ningbo, is a leading company in the field of precision reducers in China. It can control the machining accuracy of the crankshaft, the core component of the reducer, within 1 micron, and the service life is more than 5,000 hours.
At present, Hangzhou is planning to issue implementation opinions to promote the high-quality development of the intelligent robot industry. According to the draft industrial policy for comments released in April, Hangzhou will provide policy and financial support for the construction of the "brain" and "cerebellum" of intelligent robots, and the key technology research and development of core components and complete machine manufacturing. It is hoped that by 2026, the industrial output value of the entire industry chain of intelligent robots will exceed 50 billion yuan, and 50 new complete machine products will be achieved, including no less than 3 humanoid robot complete machine products that have reached the industrialization level.
"What we need to do is not only to break through technology, but more importantly, to truly transform technology into productivity." Xiong Rong said that the innovation center plans to achieve small-batch application and promotion of humanoid robots within two to three years, and through the research and development of complete system and batch application, promote the development of core components and intelligent manufacturing companies in the upstream of the province's supply chain.
