In the 1990s, the United States chose the technology development strategy of the information superhighway, and Japan chose artificial intelligence and robotics. After 20 years, the Internet has developed far faster than robots, and the United States has stood at the peak of the trend of the technology era.
Today, the Internet is still the mainstream, but more and more people are predicting that robotics and automation technology will be the next revolutionary technology to change the world. Foxconn's 1 million robots program echoed this prediction. There is no doubt about the advent of the robot era. So, at this moment, is China’s industry ready? Can IT companies make robots more intelligent? Zuo Shiquan, director of the Sadie Think Tank Equipment Industry Research Institute, told reporters that the technology maturity mastered by China's local robotics companies is not enough, and the reliability must be strengthened. Zhang Hui, head of the precision assembly department of ABB Group China Robotics Division, one of the four major robot companies, told reporters that industrial robots are an electromechanical integration industry, and IT companies can develop advanced artificial intelligence software systems.
Chinese demand is booming
It is estimated that by 2014, the demand for industrial robots in China will reach 32,000 units, making it the world's largest demand country.
Industrial robots usually consist of three parts - mechanical systems, control systems and intelligent systems. The mechanical system consists of drive mechanisms (eg hydraulic, pneumatic and electric) and actuators (composed of base, waist, arm, wrist and hand). The hand is also known as the end effector and can be a jaw, torch or nozzle depending on the job. The control system is responsible for calculating the spatial coordinate positioning required by the hand in the work, matching the steering of the joint shaft group on the base, the waist, the arm and the wrist, and determining the working posture of the robot. The intelligent system is calculated by computer software to determine the best point-to-point or continuous moving route of the hand, and to perform interference analysis to avoid collision with the workpiece, fixture and other equipment, and to quickly output the working program, and the command and control system achieves the required Work effect.
Lei Weiming, manager of digital manufacturing market for the Asia-Pacific marketing department of Siemens Industry Software (Siemens PLM Software), told reporters that in general, today's industrial robots are a system of integrated electromechanical and computer software. Enterprises must master good mechanical, servo motor and precision deceleration. The engineering and analysis capabilities of the sensor and sensor systems, master the comprehensive computer simulation, visualization and programming capabilities, and fully understand the application industry's working principles and requirements.
China's industrial robots started in the early 1970s. After more than 20 years of development, they have experienced three stages: the germination period of the 1970s, the development period of the 1980s, and the application period of the 1990s. Since the development of industrial robot research, China's industrial robot industry is constantly improving.
In recent years, China has emerged nearly 60 companies engaged in industrial robot production, such as Xinsong Robot, Bosch Automation, Efte (Chery Equipment), Juyi Welding, Guangzhou CNC, Wodi, Qingdao Soft Control, etc. The degree of industrialization is low, and most of them are in the production scale of dozens of units.
In terms of application, market demand has surged in the past three years, and the automobile industry has expanded into many fields such as power and electronics, machine tools, and chemicals, and the market has a large demand. Since 2010, the demand for industrial robots in China has surged, which is 1.7 times higher than that in 2009. In 2011, it increased by 51% compared with 2010. It is expected that the demand will reach 32,000 units in 2014, making it the world's largest demand country. This is mainly because China's labor costs have risen rapidly, and some companies have begun to replace labor with industrial robots.
Foreign brands occupy most markets
80% of China's market share is occupied by four major companies: ABB, FANUC, Yaskawa and KUKA.
In recent years, the popularization of robots has evolved from an initial single robot work unit to a work group of multiple robots, and even constitutes a production line that completes the entire manufacturing process.
When talking about the international and domestic gaps, Lei Weiming told reporters that the international and Chinese markets have similar concerns about robot performance, such as large working space, fast speed, short response time, high precision and reliability, light weight and heavy weight. High flexibility, operator interface improvement, modularization, offline programming (OLP), energy saving, and relatively low operating costs.
However, due to the difference in labor costs, the Chinese market will still use manual loading, unloading and stacking when performing production work on applied robots, resulting in insufficient automation and a lower ratio of robots to labor than foreign markets. And so on. According to the International Federation of Robotics, China’s 2011 figure is 21, with an international average of 55, including 135 in the US, 251 in Germany, 339 in Japan and 347 in South Korea.
In the Chinese market, Japanese and European brands have a large share of robotic products. It is understood that 80% of the market share in the Chinese market is occupied by four major companies: ABB, FANUC, Yaskawa and KUKA. Lei Weiming believes that these foreign brands are leading the performance of Chinese products with their early technological advantages and practical experience, and the performance of robots, especially control systems, intelligence and networking. The performance of robots developed in China is limited to joint-type loading, point, handling, palletizing robots and other products. It lacks autonomy. For example, the machining accuracy of parts is not high enough, the key components are almost all imported, and the R&D power is scattered and discontinuous. Influential local large enterprises have hindered the development of China's robot industry chain due to factors such as low enthusiasm for independent research and development and low production volume.
IT opportunities are in integration cooperation
The robot control system will move toward a PC-based open controller.
Industrial robots involve technology interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary, and their control systems are called “brains†and are places where IT companies can make a difference.
The control system is the main factor determining the function and performance of the robot. Its main task is to control the position, attitude and trajectory of the industrial robot in the workspace, the sequence of operations and the time of the action. Key technologies such as modular and hierarchical controller software systems, robot fault diagnosis and safety maintenance technology, and networked robot controller technology directly affect the speed, control accuracy and reliability of industrial robots. At present, the robot control system will develop toward the open controller based on PC, which is convenient for standardization and networking, digitization and decentralization of servo drive technology, practical application of multi-sensor fusion technology, optimization of work environment design and operation. Flexible. Luo Baihui, secretary general of the International Association of Mould & Hardware Plastics Industry Suppliers, believes that the development opportunities of software companies or IT enterprises in the field of industrial robots are mainly aimed at the independent development of control systems and intelligent systems, establishing an industrialization platform, and supporting independent brand enterprises. With large-scale applications, we will continue to develop and seek technological breakthroughs. The problems that these IT companies will encounter include the development and popularization of industrialization platform standards, the integration of electromechanical and software systems, the intelligent improvement of the tolerance of parts processing, the improvement of the collaborative work of engineering teams, and the formation of an independent industrial chain structure. So get rid of the shackles of relying on imported technology.
Dr. Paul G. Ranky, a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), said that software and complex robotic systems cannot be truly separated. While there are opportunities to create robotic programming and simulation tools, or quality assessment and control software tools, and other tools for industrial robot systems, advanced industrial robots are complex systems that are made up of hardware and software and equipment and Other systems such as sensor networks, vision systems, other advanced industrial robots, and factory control automation systems are tightly integrated, so software cannot be truly separated.
Paul suggested that you should look at the best industrial robot design and manufacturing companies, work with them, design integrated systems and more new applications. Many people mistakenly believe that copying software can solve the problem. But the only solution is to work with these leading companies and create new systems based on appropriate ethical awareness and international copyright and design rights laws.
Zhang Hui, head of the precision assembly department of ABB Group's China Robotics Division, also said that robots may be an opportunity for the IT industry, but the advantages of IT companies in manufacturing robots are not obvious because they lack relevant electromechanical knowledge for robot control and zero. The understanding of component construction is also limited, which limits the participation of IT companies in the development and manufacture of industrial robots. IT companies can develop advanced artificial intelligence software systems, but these systems currently have limited contributions to manufacturing industrial robots.
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