Various Companies Compete in The Humanoid Robot Industry

The humanoid robot industry is surging. A few days ago, a reporter from China Securities Journal found that with the outbreak of artificial intelligence and the rapid maturity of the upstream and downstream industrial chains, the development of domestic humanoid robots is changing with each passing day.
Industry insiders said that humanoid robots have begun to enter the production lines of industrial scenes such as new energy vehicles, and are expected to bring benefits next year. In the next five years, humanoid robots may enter scenes such as home services. Domestic and foreign humanoid robot companies are accelerating their race. This year, domestic leading companies will start small-batch delivery, and a new trillion-level industry track is about to emerge.
● Zhang Xingwang, reporter of this newspaper
From science fiction to reality
Humanoid robots are moving from science fiction movies to the real world. The reporter saw in the R&D room of Leju Robot that the R&D personnel were training the humanoid robot "Kuafu". Kuafu moves horizontally and vertically with a vigorous pace. According to the reporter, the R&D personnel currently test Kuafu for several hours every day to iterate product performance.
At the end of December 2023, Leju released the humanoid robot Kuafu, which is the first open source Hongmeng humanoid robot in China that can jump and adapt to multi-terrain walking. Leng Xiaokun, chairman of Leju, revealed to a reporter from China Securities Journal that the company has now negotiated with customers in the automotive and other industries, and Kuafu will enter the industrial scene in the future.
Recently, Zhuji Power released the latest progress video of humanoid robots. The humanoid robot CL-1 completed climbing stairs one step at a time and used full-body movement to control running back and forth. In May this year, Alibaba became the second largest shareholder of Zhuji Power. This is Alibaba's first investment in a humanoid robot company. The relevant person in charge of Zhuji Power said that the two parties will jointly promote the development of general humanoid robots and explore application scenarios that can be commercialized.
In February this year, UBTECH released a video of the industrial version of the humanoid robot Walker S entering the general assembly workshop of NIO's second advanced manufacturing base for "practical training". Walker S enables humanoid robots to collaborate with humans on the assembly line of automobile factories to complete automobile assembly and quality inspection operations. This "intern" on the NIO automobile production line was amazing, and once the video was released, it immediately set off the Internet.
According to reports, Walker S is 1.7 meters tall, with an appearance proportion closer to that of humans, and can replace the end effector. After entering the NIO factory, Walker S has new developments. On May 31, Dongfeng Liuqi and UBTECH signed a strategic cooperation agreement on the application of humanoid robots. Walker S will enter the production line of Dongfeng Liuqi to carry out a series of work such as seat belt detection, door lock detection, headlight cover detection, label printing, etc. in the process of automobile manufacturing.
Since the beginning of this year, UBTECH has focused on manufacturing fields such as automobiles and 3C, improving the tool operation and task execution capabilities of humanoid robots, and realizing in-depth application in typical manufacturing scenarios. Zhou Jian, chairman of the board, executive director and CEO of UBTECH, told a reporter from China Securities Journal that compared with traditional industrial robots, humanoid robots are more flexible and intelligent, and can replace more heavy and boring jobs in the manufacturing industry.
Huafu Securities believes that automobile companies have always been at the forefront of automation technology, and this is no exception in the field of humanoid robots. At present, many domestic and foreign automakers have announced their entry into the humanoid robot track. Some companies independently develop humanoid robots, such as Tesla, Honda, Xiaopeng, etc.; some companies invest in humanoid robot start-ups, such as BYD's investment in Zhiyuan Robot; and others cooperate with humanoid robot manufacturers to conduct relevant tests in factories, such as Weilai, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, etc.
Will achieve small-scale delivery
At present, Xiaomi has released the humanoid bionic robot CyberOne. The person in charge of Xiaomi Robot said that in the short term, Xiaomi Robot is a dedicated intelligent robot used in certain scenarios of intelligent manufacturing; in the future, Xiaomi will promote the widespread application of humanoid robots and expand the landing of robots in more scenarios outside of 3C and automobile manufacturing scenarios.
In April, Chery Automobile demonstrated its humanoid robot Mornine, which was jointly developed by Chery and its partners. Industry experts analyzed that the landing of humanoid robots has always been a big problem. Automakers are deploying humanoid robots, mostly hoping that robots can be used for flexible work on automobile production lines, but Chery believes that the main purpose of humanoid robots in the early stage is more for display.
Leng Xiaokun said that humanoid robots have just entered the industrial scene for "internship", and various humanoid robot manufacturers are still in the stage of creating industry benchmarks, that is, running through application scenarios first. He predicts that humanoid robots will really generate benefits in industrial scenarios next year.
Industry insiders predict that humanoid robot products are expected to bring surprises at the Tesla shareholders' meeting. Multiple Optimus clips are shown in the promotional video of the 2024 Tesla shareholders' meeting. Optimus can already handle and sort batteries on the assembly line, and is proficient in industrial scene operations.
As early as October 2022, Tesla's first humanoid robot Optimus was unveiled. Tesla CEO Musk said that the robot is powerful and hopes to be mass-produced. He expects the price of Optimus to be less than $20,000. In April 2024, Musk said that Optimus can already perform factory tasks in the laboratory. By the end of this year, it will be able to perform tasks in the real Tesla factory, and Optimus may be sold as early as the end of 2025.
The reporter found that the humanoid robots currently released by humanoid robot manufacturers include Tesla Optimus, Boston Dynamics Atlas, UBTECH Walker S, Xiaomi CyberOne, Leju Kuafu, Xiaopeng PX5, Zhuji Power CL-1, Zhiyuan Yuanzheng A1, etc. Zheshang Securities believes that the fields of artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, consumer electronics, industrial robots, etc. are supported by leading manufacturers. It is expected that the humanoid robot industry will enter the first year of small-scale mass production in 2024, and the progress of industrialization is expected to exceed expectations.
During the investigation, the reporter learned that Leju has started shipping humanoid robots. UBTECH plans to achieve small-scale delivery of humanoid robots by the end of 2024. In April 2024, UBTECH said that it hopes to conduct a large number of actual tests on the factory side through humanoid robots to prepare for the mass production of humanoid robots on the factory side in 2025 or 2026. CITIC Securities believes that heavyweight players continue to enter the humanoid robot industry, and Tesla is the industry's "catfish", promoting rapid product iteration and commercialization.
SDIC Securities believes that the rapid development of artificial intelligence since 2024 will significantly help the robot industry to accelerate, and humanoid robots are expected to usher in the year of industrial landing. With the continuous updating and iteration of robot products of domestic and foreign companies, humanoid robots are expected to enter the mass production stage relatively quickly.
The wind has arrived
"The wind has arrived in the humanoid robot industry!" UBTECH Chief Brand Officer Tan Min told a reporter from China Securities Journal. At present, foreign giants such as Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, OpenAI, and Honda are focusing on the robot industry. In the past two years, the number of domestic humanoid robot companies has grown from single digits to more than 100.
From Apple's perspective, in April this year, according to media reports, Apple is studying home robot technology after abandoning its electric vehicle plan, and it may become Apple's next major project.
In the domestic market, with the entry of startups such as UBTECH, Leju, Yushu Technology, Fourier, and Zhiyuan Robotics, and the participation of companies such as Xiaomi, iFlytek, and Xiaopeng, the domestic humanoid robot industry has entered a stage of rapid development. At present, Internet companies such as Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, and Meituan have invested in humanoid robot projects, and all major giants do not want to miss the next trillion-level hot industry.
Lu Hanchen, director of the Gaogong Robot Industry Research Institute, told a reporter from China Securities Journal that humanoid robots are expected to become disruptive products after computers, smartphones, and new energy vehicles, which will profoundly change human production and lifestyle and reshape the global industrial development pattern. Domestic and foreign humanoid robot companies are accelerating their race. This year, domestic leading companies have started small-batch deliveries, and a new trillion-level industry track is opening up.
CITIC Securities believes that humanoid robots have a wide range of application scenarios, including industrial, commercial, civil, special and even outer space, and are a powerful supplement to industrial robots and other automated equipment; in the future, the global scale of humanoid robots can reach trillions of yuan, which is not inferior to 3C and new energy vehicles; the industrial chain will usher in a huge increase in volume, accompanied by a downward trend in prices.
AVIC Securities believes that the trend of the humanoid robot industry is clear. The industry has entered an important breakthrough stage from 0 to 1, and 2024 will be a key year for breakthroughs in mass production. By 2030, the global cumulative demand for humanoid robots is expected to reach about 2 million units, corresponding to a market space of about 570 billion yuan. Goldman Sachs predicts that by 2035, the market size of humanoid robots is expected to reach 154 billion US dollars.
Lu Hanchen believes that humanoid robots are expected to become one of the best carriers of embodied intelligence. As artificial intelligence enters a stage of rapid development, the industrialization process of humanoid robots will accelerate under the empowerment of artificial intelligence.