Play store
Robots building robots may sound like something out of a science-fiction story, but China has turned the concept into reality. At a newly opened factory in Liuzhou, humanoid robots are helping produce industrial robots at a rate of one every 10 minutes.
Chinese robotics manufacturer UBTECH Robotics has established the factory in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The company says the facility has an annual production capacity of up to 10,000 robots.
The 14,000-square-meter factory, standing 13.8 meters high, mainly produces UBTECH’s Walker S and Cruiser series humanoid robots designed for industrial applications. A digital system called “Smart Brain” is used to manage the production process.
According to UBTECH, the system oversees key tasks including production planning, parts transportation and quality control of finished products. Each robot is also assigned a unique serial number, allowing its location and progress to be tracked at every stage of production.
Inside the factory, Cruiser Y1 and Cruiser S2 robots handle tasks such as unloading and storing materials, transporting products and delivering components to different points along the production line. In other words, some robots are helping manufacture new robots.
During the final assembly stage, humanoid robots work alongside collaborative robotic arms, autonomous logistics vehicles, power-assist equipment and rotating work platforms. This setup allows different types of robots to be produced on the same production line without the need for separate assembly lines.
Before being shipped to customers, every humanoid robot undergoes more than four hours of comprehensive testing. This is followed by a 360-degree visual inspection to check the robot’s external condition.
The factory’s automated warehouse can store 112 humanoid robots in an area of just 65 square meters. Automated guided vehicles, driverless forklifts and other logistics equipment move robots and components between the assembly, testing and storage areas.
The factory comes online as China’s robotics industry continues to expand rapidly. According to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country produced 98,677 industrial robots in July, an increase of 30.2 percent from the same month a year earlier. During the first seven months of the year, China produced a total of 635,056 industrial robots, representing year-on-year growth of 28.5 percent. Source: Based on Tech media report.