China opens its first humanoid robot training facility

The Kylin humanoid robot training ground, operated by Zhangjiang Group and the National and Local Humanoid Robot Innovation Center in Shanghai, can train more than 100 humanoid robots at the same time in the early stages. By 2027, the facility aims to train 1,000 mixed robots at the same time.

At the inauguration ceremony on January 21, Xu Bin, general director of the innovation center, said that the new facility aims to become a national platform in developing embodied artificial intelligence technology, promoting boost China’s humanoid robot industry, providing great impetus to new and future strategic industries. Robots will be enhanced with advanced mobility, control, biomechanics, artificial intelligence, machine vision, perception, learning and cognitive development functions.

The Kylin humanoid robot training ground will provide mixed training, serving many different fields. The facility has an area of ​​more than 5,000 m2 with more than a dozen specialized training scenarios such as welding, 3C product manufacturing (computer, telecommunications, consumer electronics), and automobile testing.

Trained robots can perform a variety of tasks, including arranging desks, sorting goods and operating equipment, achieving an average success rate of over 90%, according to Jiang Lei, a scientist Head at the National and Local Humanoid Robot Innovation Center.

China’s robot industry has developed rapidly in recent years. According to a report on humanoid robots published in July at the 2024 World AI conference in Shanghai, the scale of China’s humanoid robot market this year reached about 385 million USD. By 2029, this number is expected to increase to 10.3 billion USD, accounting for 32.7% of the global market.

Jiang said that humanoid robots are considered an important technology to solve the problems of an aging society, and 2025 is expected to be a notable year with the goal of mass producing humanoid robots.