China has unveiled its first training ground for heterogeneous humanoid robots in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, a milestone for the humanoid robot industry. The facility, which can accommodate more than 100 humanoid robots of various sizes and functions at the same time, is part of the metropolis’ efforts to tap the sector, whose scale is expected to reach CNY75 billion by 2029, industry sources have said. “This is an important milestone for humanoid robot development in Shanghai and the whole country,” said Zhang Hongtao, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization, during the unveiling ceremony. “Humanoid robots and embodied intelligence technology are on the verge of a big boom thanks to the continuous innovation and breakthroughs achieved in the fields of algorithm optimization, hardware upgrades and data collection, which have laid a solid foundation for the humanoid robot industry’s upgrading and wide application,” Zhang said.
Formerly known as the Humanoid Robot Kylin Training Ground, the facility is the first of many more future training grounds to be unveiled across the nation. They are tasked with creating a platform of accurate, high-efficiency and low-cost data collection, meeting the various training requirements of the special robots, so as to promote technological breakthroughs and application of humanoid robots, according to Zhang. “Without building similar redundant projects, the training ground will effectively reduce investment costs of developing humanoid intelligence technology,” said Xu Bin, General Manager of Humanoid Robot (Shanghai) Co, which is under the National and Local Co-Built Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center. “As the training ground’s operation matures, it will be expanded nationwide. These training grounds are expected to develop into a national-level platform of embodied intelligent technology, promote China’s humanoid robot industry, and provide a strong impetus for cultivating national strategic emerging industries and future industries,” added Xu.
Taking up an area of 4,600 square meters, the training ground currently holds more than 100 humanoid robots receiving on-the-spot training under 10 scenarios, said Xing Boyang, R&D Director with the National and Local Co-Built Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center. Licensed in Shanghai in May 2024, the center is the country’s first public platform for humanoid robot innovation and is currently one of the two national-level humanoid robot innovation centers in China. Xu forecasts that by 2027, at least 1,000 humanoid robots will be applied in state-level training grounds. “The humanoid robot industry is too big to let a single platform or enterprise create the industrial ecology alone. It is extremely meaningful for us to offer the training ground to solve various challenges in its application and development,” said Xu, as reported by the China Daily.
