Automation advances beyond factory gates, into homes

Yun Tianzhi, 60, welcomed a new family member last month - a robot that does the cleaning. It was a gift from his son who emigrated to Canada four years ago.

"I thought it wouldn't work as well as humans," Yun says. "But it does a really great job. I never have to worry about the floors now. It saves me a lot of time and energy."

A visitor shakes hands with a robot nurse at an exhibition in Beijing. Provided to China Daily

The son, Yun Xiang, says: "My parents are getting older, and housework has become a burden for them. I couldn't look after them, and I needed someone to help. Robots are a very good solution, one that is affordable, and the other thing is that you are not going to have problems with them like you would with housekeepers."

Robots are set to become a bigger part of everyday life in China as they develop from being machines limited to factory floors to domestic aids for children and the elderly. China is leading the way in this transformation.

"China is a huge market for robots, both industrial and domestic, and that presents huge possibilities to robot manufacturers here and overseas," says Qu Daokui, president of Siasun Robot & Automation Co Ltd.

The robot manufacturer, in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, has developed robot nurses and started testing them last year.

The robot can talk, email, text, detect gas leaks and run around on its two wheels for eight hours on a single two-hour charge in test conditions.

With such market potential, robot companies are springing up everywhere. About 400 companies were registered last year, but there are fewer than 10 major robot companies worldwide.

Two years ago China became the world's largest robot market. However, three companies - ABB of Switzerland, Fanuc and Yaskawa Electric Corp of Japan, and Kaku of Germany - account for about 75 percent of domestic market share.

Experts say that to compete, Chinese companies need to pay more attention to innovation and diversified competition.

"That's what we have done," Qu says, adding that the company's trump card is its innovation.

Siasun, set up in 2000, is a pioneer in Chinese robot technology and equipment for manufacturing, storage and logistics automation. Its products have been widely used in the chemical, electrical appliance, finance, food, motorcycle and motor vehicle, manufacturing, and tobacco industries.

The company, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2009, has a market value of about 28 billion yuan ($4.5 billion; 4 billion euros), and ranks among the top three robot makers in the world.

"High technology is not something that can be bought from the market," Qu says.

"The only way to gain it is through innovation. With the global market changing rapidly, the need for innovation is inevitable. In the high-tech industry, competition is based more on brand rather than price. Innovation is the key to improving our competitiveness."

The company employs 1,600 people, three-quarters of them in research and development. About one-eighth of the company's revenue is plowed back into R&D. Its products have filled dozens of gaps in the Chinese robotics industry.

Every year the company develops dozens of new products in areas such as industrial robots, robotic vacuum cleaners, mobile robots, special robots and intelligent service robots. The new products contribute more than 30 percent to its revenue each year, the company says.

In April the government put Siasun on a list of what are said to be the 10 most well-known Chinese brands, a list that includes Huawei, Haier and China South Locomotive.

In 2007 the company was named one of the suppliers for General Motors Corp, which resulted in its products being exported to more than 10 countries.

Ha Enjing, its director of global branding, says: "The GM deal radically changed China's domestic robot industry, which until then had only imported robots and not exported them."

In 2003, aware of the changes going on in the industry, the company set up its worldwide headquarters in Shanghai. It plans to work closely with universities and research institutes and grow with the help of mergers and acquisitions overseas and by gradually expanding its sales there.

Since 2008 Siasun has exported nearly 300 automated guided vehicles, mostly for use in the automotive industry, to 15 countries. The number of AGVs exported rang from 30 to 50 a year, depending on the needs of buyers. They include such vehicles as forklifts.

Two-thirds of its products are now used by foreign-owned companies. Its new robot for automated vehicles is now used on the assembly lines of big car companies such as Ford. They have also been exported to Europe in large quantities.

However, given the huge domestic demand, sales at home will remain a top priority for the company, Qu says.

The China National Robotics Development Forum held in Beijing in April heard that 225,000 industrial robots were sold worldwide last year, 27 percent more than in 2013. About 56,000 were sold in China, 58 percent more than in 2013.

"Robots are a rapidly developing high-tech product," Qu says. "Its technological lifecycle is very short. The international competition in robots relies greatly on innovation."

Now a research and development team in Siasun is working to develop compound robots that will combine robotic arms, feet and eyes into one robot and coordinate them to perform work.

Yang Yang and Chen Yingqun contributed to this story.

liuce@chinadaily.com.cn

( China Daily European Weekly 06/19/2015 page8)