People look at Xiaomi’s humanoid robot ‘CyberOne’ during the 2023 World Robot Conference at the Beijing Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center on August 18, 2023 in Beijing, China.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Xiaomi It has also experimented with its humanoid robots at its electric vehicle manufacturing plants, the company’s president told CNBC, which appears to boost productivity in its factories.
Two humanoid robots can complete 90% of the work in three hours, Lu Weibing told CNBC in an interview at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. He said that they can complete the work like installation of nuts, transportation of materials.
“The biggest challenge for them is to keep pace, to integrate robots into our production lines,” added Wiebing. “At Xiaomi’s car factory, a new car rolls off the assembly line every 76 seconds. Two humanoid robots are able to keep up with us.”
Lu said a key focus for Xiaomi is to have humanoid robots working in factories and improving productivity. In the future, he said, humanoid robots will be able to “replace humans for some work” and “achieve work that humans cannot.”
Xiaomi first launched its CyberOne humanoid robot in 2022, but it is not currently selling the product.
Interns
However, Lu said the use of his robots in manufacturing plants is still in its infancy.
“The robots on our production lines are not doing official work like interns,” Lu told CNBC.
Still, the experiment highlights the speed with which Chinese companies are investing in and improving robotic capabilities.
There are several Chinese firms, some of which have recently gone public, developing the technology. Experts expect Chinese firms to ramp up production of robots this year, with the country being an early adopter of the technology.
Analysts at RBC Capital Markets forecast a global total addressable market for humanoids of $9 trillion by 2050, with China accounting for more than 60% of that.
Xiaomi built its business by selling a whole host of consumer electronics products, but in recent years launched an electric vehicle business that has grown rapidly. While Lu said he was “bullish” on robotics, he said it was “too early to tell” how big the market would be.
Other Chinese companies have also expanded into robotics. A Chinese EV startup XPeng has developed its own humanoid, but on Sunday, smartphone player Honor launched its first prototype.
In the US, Elon Musk has tried to gain ground Tesla Robotics and AI as an organization. In January, Musk said Tesla was ending production of its Model S and X vehicles and would use a factory in Fremont, California, to build Optimus humanoid robots.
