Wang said the industry is nearing a breakthrough where robots can be placed in unfamiliar environments and complete most tasks through simple voice or text instructions.
“We hope that in the future, we can see a robot be introduced into an unfamiliar household and it can achieve approximately 80 per cent of tasks successfully through voice or text commands,” he said.
“It is an important tipping point for the robot industry to usher in explosive growth.”
MAJOR LEAP IN ROBOT SOFTWARE STILL A FEW YEARS AWAY
At the same time, Wang cautioned that a major leap in robot software could arrive within two to three years in an optimistic scenario, or within five to 10 years at the latest.
“Relative to the mood around World Robot Conference and Unitree’s spectacular IPO, Wang Xingxing was notably sober about current capabilities,” said Georg Stieler, head of automation at robotics consultancy Stieler.
Unitree is the world’s largest producer of robot dogs and the second-biggest maker of humanoid robots by shipments, according to industry data.
It rose to fame with impressively choreographed performances of robots dancing and performing gongfu showcased on Chinese television, and is increasingly deploying its machines in real-world industrial settings. Its IPO prospectus shows most customers are universities and research institutions.
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