(Original title: Gu Chunyuan: The demand for Chinese industrial robots has not yet really broken out)
Hong Kong reporter Du Hongyu reported from Guangzhou
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Gu Chunyuan said that the application climax of Chinese industrial robots has not yet entered an era of full-scale eruption. The key lies in how to integrate the relevant technologies from the fragmented state to the specific industries or processes made in China, based on the needs of reality and localization. Whether it is to use industrial robots to achieve the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industries, or attach importance to it as a new industry, this actually reflects China’s current pursuit and participation in the new round of technological revolution.
In recent years, the pace of transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry has accelerated markedly. "Machine Substitution" has accompanied waves of "intelligent manufacturing" and "Made in China 2025" concepts throughout the country.
As the president of ABB Group's Asia, Middle East and Africa, Gu Chunyuan has also been employed as a consultant to advise and advise the governors and mayors of manufacturing transformation, industrial robots and smart manufacturing. How did the robotics expert who joined the ABB Group since 1989 and who is a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering in Sweden view the current boom in industrial robotics in China?
When Gu Chunyuan accepted an interview with a reporter from the 21st Century Business Herald, he said that the application needs of Chinese industrial robots have not yet entered an era of full-scale eruption. The key lies in how to integrate relevant technologies from the state of fragmentation into China in the direction of reality and localization needs. The specific industry or process of manufacture.
Large scale demand for manufacturing
"21st Century": How to look at the current fiery phenomenon of Chinese industrial robots?
Gu Chunyuan: In 2013, China surpassed Japan as the world’s largest industrial robot market and was the fastest growing market. There are indeed signs of a gradual outbreak of demand.
In the face of rising labor costs, overcapacity, structural adjustments, and other challenges, China's manufacturing industry urgently needs to adopt digital solutions including industrial robots to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing plants to smart factories. In particular, the majority of small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises need to use this technical means to improve their own competitiveness, which is in fact the same as the European manufacturing industry has faced in the past.
"21st Century": How to understand the "scale effect" of industrial robot applications?
Gu Chunyuan: This is mainly a question of cost. If there is no scale effect, the application costs of industrial robots cannot be controlled and will not be able to be pushed open.
The scale effect of China's manufacturing industry is much larger than that of Europe. Its application needs are numerous, and the amount of each application is also very large. This is a feature that Europe does not have. It also means that industrial robots have a broader application prospect and faster speed in China.
A typical example is that the industrial robot application in the Chinese 3C industry has surpassed the automotive industry. At present, only part of the upgrade has been achieved, and there are still more manufacturing processes that have not been retrofitted, such as the need for the largest assembly link to be broken. Therefore, I think that the application demand for Chinese industrial robots has not really entered an era of full-scale eruption.
This scale effect is also reflected in the expansion of industrial robots. Once it starts to integrate with the manufacturing industry, it will gradually deepen the transformation from 1 to 100 units.
"21st Century": What are the conditions for real demand outbreak?
Gu Chunyuan: The current application of industrial robots in China's manufacturing industry is by no means a simple copy of the application model of the foreign automobile industry. Therefore, it is necessary to first solve a series of bottlenecks in the technology, including making it easier to integrate, operate, and maintain industrial robots in general industry and SME applications. This requires us to explore, reform, and innovate on many technologies from the entire usage level. At present, all parties are trying and the technology is becoming more and more mature.
Secondly, we must also solve the security problem, that is, the need to transform industrial robots from the past separation of the human-machine applications in the automotive industry, "the machine in the cage," the model into "human-machine collaboration," in order to better adapt to China's manufacturing transformation. The actual needs.
Another challenge is the issue of talents. Because China's manufacturing industry has a large number of industries and a wide range of needs, it requires a batch of people who understand the manufacturing process to support the demand for talents and technology. At present, we are also accelerating R&D investment oriented to the diversified demand of China's manufacturing industry, especially for Guangdong, and we hope to find a more grounded connection with local manufacturing.
Industrial robots to intelligent development
"21st Century": What kind of trajectory will advance the progress of industrial robotics?
Gu Chunyuan: We must avoid going into such a misunderstanding as to think of an industrial robot as a machine in isolation and consider it to be an alternative to labor.
I often say with local governments that the use of industrial robots is not simply the introduction of equipment and automated production lines. This will not solve problems. Simply introducing crude automation equipment may push up corporate costs and reduce profits.
The robot itself is a digital product. As an added value to the substitute, it generates data for every action. This is impossible for human beings to achieve. Therefore, the excavation and utilization of data will make the machine break through the scope of automation, and future data mining will also integrate and run through the entire production line, factories and even companies, and continue to break through the island of information, optimize the manufacturing efficiency through digitalization, which is also machine substitutions. Sublimation of concepts.
Looking further, it will also develop in the direction of intelligence. We are now also exploring the introduction of artificial intelligence technology into the manufacturing industry, achieving greater human substitution through machine learning, and further improvements in the level and efficiency of production industries.
From automation to digitization to intelligence, the application of industrial robots is the foundation, and this process will follow the natural law. At present, China is accelerating the application of industrial robots at a very good time, the demand is fully manifested, and all aspects of technology are gradually maturing, which makes breakthrough at the application level more of a matter of time.
"21st Century": What is ABB's exploration and practice? What are the considerations and layouts for the Chinese market?
Gu Chunyuan: At present, China is already one of ABB’s most important markets in the world, and it is the second largest market after the United States in terms of scale, and there is still great potential for growth in demand. From the perspective of trends and customer needs, it is the digitalization that can truly enhance the competitiveness of a manufacturing enterprise in the future. This is also our key point for exploration.
Therefore, we have integrated and launched a digital solution called "ABB Ability" to provide Chinese companies with control systems for the process industry, as well as professional solutions for remote monitoring services such as robots, motors and mechanical equipment. We hope to adopt digital technologies. Improve the level of manufacturing technology, even toward intelligence.
China is an important market for ABB. Therefore, investment in R&D will increase investment in the future, and will not only be limited to automation and digitization, but will also include the gradual introduction of more artificial intelligence concepts into China to explore applications that integrate with China's manufacturing industry. .
In fact, some related technologies and concepts in this field have been brewing, exploring and trying for many years, and many basic technologies have gradually matured. The key now is how to integrate them from a fragmented state to a specific industry or process made in China.
Smart factory is the future trend
"21st Century": China's huge market has also attracted foreign industrial robot companies including ABB to speed up the layout, how do you view the Chinese market competition?
Gu Chunyuan: As for capacity, we have already carried out three capacity expansions in the past, but it does not seem to be enough now. Therefore, we are planning to double the production capacity of industrial robots in China to become the world's largest supplier of industrial automation equipment.
Research and development, on the one hand, is to strengthen the research and development of industrial robots and speed up the development of a new generation of industrial robots; on the other hand, we hope to improve the differences from competitors in terms of services, including the enhancement of application-level investment and platform construction.
ABB's goal is not only to provide robots, but also to provide a full range of automation products. Therefore, we acquired a leader in mechanical automation this year and developed a manufacturing MES system. We hope to improve our ability to provide simple robot automation and intelligent factory solutions. The future trend is definitely a smart factory.
In addition, we will continue to do a good job in localization and strengthen the integration with the Chinese manufacturing industry, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises in Guangdong, and provide them with practical transformation and upgrading programs. At the same time, ABB also plans to copy the “application center†model of industrial robots that was explored in Zhuhai, Guangdong, to more cities such as Qingdao, Chongqing and Wuhan.
"21st Century": China's domestic robot companies are also rising. Many places including Guangdong are also actively promoting the development of the industrial robot industry. How do you view this phenomenon?
Gu Chunyuan: There are a lot of local industrial robot companies that are doing very well. Many of them are in Guangdong. This is a good phenomenon that market demand has spawned.
China's domestic industrial robot companies started late, but they also have the disadvantage of having the advantage that they can apply the latest technologies, including digital technology, hardware and software technologies, and even artificial intelligence technologies, all at once. Of course, this requires an accumulated process of experience, that is, a matter of time.
There is also a view that the short board on the core components will restrict the development of China's industrial robot industry, but I think this is not the biggest and only bottleneck. I believe that China will be able to explore its own development path. Whether it is to use industrial robots to achieve the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industries, or attach importance to it as a new industry, this actually reflects China’s current pursuit and participation in the new round of technological revolution.
(Editor: Li Bo, if you have any comments or suggestions please contact:,)
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