Industrial robots are an important cornerstone of intelligent manufacturing, and improving quality is key

Industrial robots are an important cornerstone of intelligent manufacturing, and the development of the robotics industry will bring new opportunities for China's high-end intelligent manufacturing industry. Domestic robot companies have a high degree of external dependence in core technology fields such as key components, and weak independent innovation capabilities, which seriously restricts the development of intelligent manufacturing in China.

At the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress, "artificial intelligence" was first included in the national government work report, indicating the country's emphasis on emerging industries and that artificial intelligence will become the core of a new round of technological transformation. Premier Li Keqiang pointed out the need to deepen the implementation of "Made in China 2025" and make the development of intelligent manufacturing the main focus. Determining this main direction can be said to have seized the "bull's nose" of promoting "Made in China 2025".

Industrial robots are an important cornerstone of intelligent manufacturing, and the development of the robotics industry will bring new opportunities for China's high-end intelligent manufacturing industry. Domestic robot companies have a high degree of external dependence in core technology fields such as key components, and weak independent innovation capabilities, which seriously restricts the development of intelligent manufacturing in China. It is urgent to improve the quality of robot products and lead the innovation and high-end development of the robot industry. High quality products are produced, not detected. Therefore, to improve the quality of domestic robots, we cannot rely solely on setting industry standards and raising industry barriers. From the perspective of enterprises, the key point is the dual mechanism of forcing and promoting.

During a field investigation in the Water and Soil High tech Zone of Chongqing, the topic of "why domestic enterprises rarely produce high-end robot products" was discussed. A leader of a domestic robot enterprise discussed, "Many domestic enterprises are not incapable of producing high-end products, but most of the enterprises that produce high-end products have not survived." He explained that there are two reasons. First, domestic robots started relatively late, and their core technology has long relied on foreign brands, which has raised the production cost of the main body. In order to achieve immediate benefits and alleviate survival pressure, it is better to turn to system integration work at the bottom of the industrial chain; Secondly, domestic customers have long been accustomed to using foreign products, and the recognition of domestic products is not high. There is also a certain gap in stability compared to foreign products, making it difficult to promote and apply the products developed.

We can see that domestic robot companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are indeed facing many challenges. How can we truly and effectively improve the quality of domestic robots? The focus of the solution lies in the following three "key" aspects:

The key is to establish industry standards and force enterprises to improve quality. For the domestic robotics industry, the lack of standards is the main factor causing uneven quality and low-end development of robot products. Strengthen the development of enterprise standards, industry standards, and national standards, prioritize the research and development of a standard system with independent intellectual property rights, establish unified industry standards and certification specifications, gradually improve regulatory indicators and testing and certification systems that include technology, functionality, information, and production and sales, raise industry entry barriers, guide enterprises to correctly position their products, improve production technology levels, and force domestic robot enterprises to strengthen product quality construction.

Strengthening the application of domestic brands, it is crucial to have the courage and ability to produce high-quality products. To establish national scientific and technological values, strengthen trust and respect for domestic robot brands, use new technologies to transform, eliminate and support traditional manufacturing enterprises, accelerate the pace of "machine replacement" in manufacturing enterprises through financing and subsidies, expand the market for domestic robot products, and enable domestic enterprises to dare to mass produce high-quality robot products driven by demand; At the same time, as a typical end-to-end solution, the integrated industry should not only focus on technology research and development, but also integrate the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, strengthen support and docking at all levels of the industry chain, including innovation and promotion of core technologies, high-quality robot bodies and integrated applications, as well as expert consultation and talent cultivation, to promote the research and landing of key technologies, and to promote the rapid integration and application of manufactured high-quality products into the market.

强化企业自主创新，助力本土企业突围是关键。一是提升机器人产品质量，不仅需要国家和地方的支持引导，还需要切实提高企业自身的创新能力。需建立员工创新能力提升机制，把企业资源进一步向技术人才的选拔、培训、使用和激励上倾斜，培养出高素质的创新人才队伍，构建活跃的创新文化氛围，调动全体员工的研发创新积极性，增强企业技术创新能力。二是国家应以产品质量为抓手，从研发、生产到销售各个环节，设立财政专项资金，大力支持创新能力强、技术先进的机器人项目，促进国产企业在关键技术领域突破创新，不仅使得“小企业铺天盖地，大企业顶天立地”，还要使得整个产业特色明、品质优、竞争强。 

(Source: News Center of China Equipment Manufacturing Industry Association)