China wants robots to replace millions of low-paid workers
China wants robots to replace millions of low-paid
workers
WILL KNIGHT for MIT Technology Review
11 hours ago
China is laying the groundwork for a robot revolution by
planning to automate the work currently done by millions of low-paid workers.
The government's plan will be crucial to a broader effort
to reform China's economy while also meeting the ambitious production goals
laid out in its latest economic blueprint, which aims to double per capita
income by 2020 from 2016 levels with at least 6.5% annual growth. The success
of this effort could, in turn, affect the vitality of the global economy.
The scale and importance of China's robot ambitions were
made clear when the vice president of the People's Republic of China, Li
Yuanchao, appeared at the country's first major robotics conference, held
recently in Beijing. Standing onstage between two humanoid entertainment robots
with outsized heads, Li delivered a message from China's leader, Xi Jinping,
congratulating the organizers of the effort. He also made it clear that
robotics would be a major priority for the country's economic future.
Many of the robots on show at the conference's exhibition
hall were service or entertainment robots such as automated vacuum cleaners,
cheap drones, or quirky looking machines designed to serve as personal
companions. But there were also many industrial robots that signaled the real
impetus for China's robot push: its manufacturing sector.
China is already the world's largest producer of
everything from clothes to electronics, but much of it depends on low-cost,
low-skill labor. And even as economic growth has slowed, wages continue to rise
across the country as the economy evolves. The Chinese government is also eager
to see its workforce diversify and its manufacturing industries become more
technologically advanced.
Robots might offer a clever solution to some of these
challenges. If more robots can be deployed successfully in many manufacturing
plants, this would increase efficiency while also allowing some workers to be
replaced. At the same time, because more capable robots will require advanced
sensing, manipulation, and intelligence, the drive could help promote the
technical expertise of the remaining manufacturing workers, as well as those
employed in designing, building, and servicing these manufacturing machines.
The scale of this robot revolution could be enormous. Two
years ago China became the world's largest importer of robots, and the
International Federation of Robotics, an industry group, estimates that China
will account for more than a third of all industrial robots installed worldwide
by 2018. Yet the number of robots per worker in China is far lower than in many
industrially advanced countries, indicating a huge potential for growth.
A more comprehensive effort to upgrade China's
manufacturing base is already underway, under a program announced in May known
as Made in China 2025, which aims to make China an innovative and green
"world manufacturing power" by that year. The effort involves adding
connectivity and intelligence to manufacturing equipment and factories, to
improve overall flexibility and efficiency. It was inspired by Germany's
Industry 4.0 effort, launched in 2011, and by similar efforts to promote more
advanced manufacturing in the U.S.
The robotic component of this overhaul will be about more
than just installing more robots in manufacturing plants, however. Some of the
tasks currently done by humans cannot easily be automated at low cost while
others, such as fine manipulation or visual inspection, will require
sophisticated hardware and software to mechanize.
Tianran Wang, a member of the Chinese Academy of
Engineering and an expert on industrial automation, spoke about China's
manufacturing industry at the Beijing event. He said that it lagged behind
those of other nations and would need a major technological overhaul. He also
emphasized that part of the challenge will be figuring out which tasks can be
automated most effectively, and how machines and humans can share the workload.
"Not all labor-intensive industry can be automated," Tianran said.
"We need hybrid automation."
China may soon become not only an important market for
more advanced robotic technology, but a producer of more advanced robot systems
itself. Many international robot makers were present at the Beijing conference,
including the German giant Kuka and the Swiss company ABB. But dozens of
Chinese robot companies were also present, including some companies that have
only been around for a few years.
Siasun, an industrial robot manufacturer based in
Shanghai, is developing a range of robots designed to help factories automate
more of their work. In an industrial park on the outskirts of the city, at a
showroom where the company demonstrates new products to prospective customers,
I saw a dexterous new six-axis robot arm in action as well as wheeled robots
that move products from one part of a production line to the next. The company
is also developing robotic solutions that are customized for specific industries,
such as a robot for painting the sides of ships by climbing up and down a cable
that hangs down the side of the hull.
Daokui Qu, the president of Siansun, said the priorities
for robot makers would be to develop more flexible systems with advanced
sensing, as well as finding better ways for robots to toil effectively and
safely alongside human workers. He added that the company had already received
a lot of orders for the mobile robot arm it was developing, and that it was
developing a gesture-controlled robot that should be easier for workers to
interact with.
Before leaving the stage to tour the Beijing conference's
exhibition hall, Vice President Li suggested that robotics researchers and
companies from outside the country would be welcome to take part in the
country's robot revolution: "China would like to welcome robot experts and
entrepreneurs from all over the world to communicate and coÓ§perate with us, in
order to push forward the development of robot technology and industry."
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