The Chinese robotics industry has been developing rapidly in recent years, but more must be done to make it competitive, industry analysts agree.
Zhang Wenqiang, director of the Robot Intelligence Lab of the Shanghai-based Fudan University, said at a recent conference that foreign companies such as Swiss ABB, Japan's FANUC Corp., and German Kuka account for about 90 percent of the Chinese market, with many Chinese companies commissioned to make parts for these technologically-advanced firms.
Chinese companies still lag behind their foreign competitors in product design, material and system integration techniques, he said, adding that many domestic manufacturers are still dependent on foreign suppliers for core technology and parts.
Besides, several industry observers pointed out that robotics research was mainly the realm of universities and research institutes, and there was little commercialization of the findings.
"Many research institutes are now investing heavily in R&D, but they are still somehow distant from the market. Usually the process of turning technology into products is extremely slow. Currently, more money shall be channeled into application-based technology," said Wang Hongbo, a mechanical engineering professor at Yanshan University.
Statistics show that the output of the global service robotics industry was 17.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, and this is expected to reach 51.7 billion dollars by 2025.
Qu Daokui, director general of the China Robot Industry Alliance said that the Chinese robotics industry has the potential to develop, thanks to state support.
"More supportive policies shall be made to facilitate cooperation between researchers and manufacturers to sharpen the competitive edge of 'Made-in-China' robots," he said.
