The first substation inspection robot debuted in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, on February 11. It moves on magnetic underground lines, gathers data and recharges automatically

In warehouses, red automated-guided vehicles transport mechanical parts, mechanical arms assemble them and robots spray paint them. The result is a finished product. In the unmanned digital factory of Siasun Robot and Automation in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, all these production processes are executed by robots.

"Robotic production is five to 10 times more efficient than manual operation," said Ha Enjing, head of Siasun's Brand Promotion and Public Relations Department.

The rapid expansion of industrial robots has been spurred primarily by rising labor costs in recent years. For many equipment manufacturers, industrial robots with automation and intelligent identification capabilities can greatly relieve cost pressures.

According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), 36,560 industrial robots were sold in China in 2013, making it the world's largest robot market in terms of annual sales. Statistics from the China Robot Industry Alliance show that in the first three quarters of 2014, sales of industrial robots in China continued high-speed growth, hitting 33,600 units, a year-on-year increase of 32.5 percent.

As the automation of automobile and electronics factories continues, the IFR predicts that the number of robots employed by Chinese factories will be second to none in 2017. However, while China is the largest potential market, the density of robots in use is far lower than in developed countries. In China, every 10,000 workers have access to only 30 robots, while in South Korea, Japan, Germany and the United States, every 10,000 workers use 437, 323, 282 and 152 robots in production respectively.

As Wuhan Huazhong Numerical Control, a leading computer numerical control manufacturer, predicts, the demand for industrial robots in automobile manufacturing, the food and beverages industry, chemical engineering, plastics production, and rubber and metal products will amount to 1.08 million to 2.4 million in the next few years, accounting for 70 percent of the total demand.

"In the past, the utilization of industrial robots was concentrated in the automobile industry. In recent years, however, it has expanded into metal processing, food and beverages, and so on," said Dun Xiangming, a research fellow with the Robotics Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in an interview with Oriental Outlook magazine.

Dun said the electronics industry, especially home appliance and cellphone manufacturing, will be the largest potential market for industrial robots in the future. Industries such as photo-electric manufacturing, iron and steel production and biochemical and pharmaceutical products will also witness a rise in the number of industrial robots owing to the limitations on their production environment.

Technological gridlock

Gao Junyao, Deputy Director of the Intelligent Robotics Institute under the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), noted that the industrialization of Chinese-made robots coincides with the surge in domestic demand, which has greatly streamlined production.

According to statistics from the Shenzhen-based GaoGong Robotics Industry Institute, there were 428 robot-related enterprises in China as of September 2014. Of those, 175 were established in the first three quarters of the year.

Many Chinese enterprises in the robotics industry do not yet have their own laboratories, research and development (R&D) teams or testing methods, said Luo Jun, President of the Beijing-based Asian Manufacturing Association.

Zhang Tianjiang, General Manager of Tianjin Easy-Robot Science & Technology Development, noted that most newly established enterprises are engaged in robotic assembling and copying. They learn about foreign-made robot structures by taking the models apart, then purchase materials and components to assemble their own products.

"There is an imbalance between R&D and application. In other words, some technologies may prove to be perfect in the laboratory but defective in practice," said Gao. The conclusion: the weaknesses of domestic-made robots are due to the lagging development of application systems and the inability to develop core components and parts.

"In fact, robots can't go into service immediately after being purchased. Take welding robots, for example. Before they can be put into operation, the factory has to develop a set of welding-related application systems," said Wang Tianmiao, a professor from the Robotics Institute of Beihang University in Beijing.

He argued that though capable of producing robots, many Chinese manufacturers are not sophisticated in complicated system development. "Application systems represent not only technological strength, but also high profits," said Wang.

Aside from the sluggish development of application systems, a complete robotic manufacturing chain has not yet come to fruition in China.

"Even leading Chinese robot manufacturers like Siasun have to buy core components and parts from foreign enterprises, such as reducers, electrical machines and bearings," said Lu Jilian, a retired professor from the BIT's Intelligent Robotics Institute.

According to Wang's calculation, Chinese robot manufacturers purchase 80 to 90 percent of their reducers, 60 to 70 percent electrical machines, and 40 to 50 percent controllers from foreign counterparts.

"That is to say, what Chinese enterprises can do is to produce robot shells, while foreign companies have absolute superiority in the exploration of core components and parts," he said.

Chinese manufacturers are heavily dependent on foreign-developed core technologies and are struggling to provide the auxiliary items for their robotic products, said Wang Weiming, Deputy Director of the Equipment Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). 

Government support

"Reviewing the 40-year trajectory of China's robotics industry, the government has played a decisive role. Without its policy support, the course could have been far more difficult," he said.

Professor Lu echoes Wang Weiming's viewpoint, saying government support is indispensable when promoting Chinese-made robots in both the domestic and overseas markets. Since the Seventh Five-Year Plan (1986-90) period, for instance, the robotics industry has enjoyed preferential policies.

According to the MIIT guidelines on promoting the healthy development of China's robotics industry released in December 2013, by 2020, a relatively complete robot industrial system will be put in place. It will be composed of three to five internationally competitive enterprises and eight to 10 supporting industrial clusters. In addition, the density of robots will be elevated to 100 per 10,000 workers

At a meeting of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering on June 9, 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the "robot revolution" will probably trigger the third Industrial Revolution. He also said its R&D, production and utilization are highly suggestive of a nation's capacity for technological and scientific innovation and high-end manufacturing.

"We should not only enhance the quality and efficiency of robotic production, but also leave no stone unturned in seizing market share," Xi said.

In 2014, the National Science and Technology Major Projects also put emphasis on industrial robots and their application in aviation, aerospace, shipbuilding and the production of car engines and industrial explosive materials.

In November, MIIT's Vice Minister Su Bo said his agency would formulate a roadmap for China's robotic technology and the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) for the robotics industry.