The city of Shanghai has published an action plan for the development of the embodied artificial intelligence (AI) industry, aiming to build a global innovation hub for this emerging field. The plan also seeks to accelerate technological breakthroughs in algorithms and technologies, including embodied models. According to the plan, the city vows to achieve at least 20 breakthroughs in core algorithms and technologies by 2027, including embodied models and linguistic corpora. It also aims to establish four incubators, aggregate 100 key enterprises, deploy 100 innovative applications, promote 100 leading products, and grow the core industry scale to more than CNY50 billion. Embodied intelligence integrates AI into physical entities like robots, enabling them to perceive, learn and interact with their environment like humans. Its core feature is combining intelligence with physical forms, allowing AI to understand causality and develop common-sense reasoning through interaction with the environment, according to Shanghai's Economy and Informatization Commission.
Analysts and industry participants noted that Shanghai has a robust industrial base in robotics – the scale of the robot industry in Shanghai accounts for about one-third of the national total – which will support the development of embodied AI. The action plan has clear goals and powerful measures, outlining a comprehensive development path from “brain” to “hands,” Wang Peng, Associate Research Fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. At the “brain” level, Shanghai will prioritize breakthroughs in key technologies, such as perception-decision models, motion control and autonomous operating systems. For open-source communities and products, rewards of up to CNY5 million will be given in accordance with regulations. In terms of “hands,” the city will advance the development of core components critical for scaling humanoid robot production, including precision motors and sensors, accelerate the research and development (R&D) of computing chips, and enhance core motherboard R&D and performance.
Apart from technologies, a key focus of the plan is the deployment of application scenarios. Leveraging its industrial strengths, Shanghai will drive new business models for embodied AI in sectors such as logistics and assembly, industrial manufacturing, commercial retail, healthcare and eldercare and home services, fostering innovative applications tailored to these fields. In order to push forward the embodied AI industry, Shanghai also vows to build industry clusters in Pudong's Zhangjiang, enhancing regional collaboration within the Yangtze River Delta. Pudong has also launched a three-year action plan to advance the humanoid robot industry and accelerate the clustering of top enterprises, strengthen industry supply chains, and promote integrated development led by leading manufacturers. Pudong has aggregated more than 100 robotics-related enterprises, ranging from functional service platforms to software and hardware component companies, the Global Times reports.
