World Robot Conference opens in Beijing

Three robots specializing in reconnaissance, small explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and armed attack have debuted at the just-concluded 2015 World Robot Conference in Beijing amid escalating global terror threats.

Vehicles with automated gun turrets sat alongside drink-serving karaoke machines at the World Robot Conference, as manufacturers sought new buyers for their “jiqiren” – “machine people” in Chinese. It is the first time for China to host such an event.

The conference has drawn more than 100 experts, 12 global robotics organizations and over 120 robotics companies.

“It has plenty of facial expressions, and the screen installed in its eyes can give people a good feeling of interaction”. And (it can) follow the human body, which means it can imitate (your gestures when) when you are in front of it. Most importantly, it can recognize if you are a man or a woman, and tell your age and whether you are happy, and the degree of your happiness.

Wang Tianran, an academician at the China Academy of Engineering, said that sales of service robots that can conduct such tasks as cooking, monitoring blood pressure and helping senior citizens may increase due to the aging population and the increasing income of Chinese families. Currently, China is relying on overseas giants such as ABB Switzerland Ltd. and Germany’s KUKA AG to provide high-end robots that are used in the automobile manufacturing, electronics and logistics sectors. So that’s why practically this robot is useful for tele-operated medium.

Some companies, he said, were focusing on more realistic products, such as “trying to modify the microwave oven into a robot that can fry eggs… maybe it doesn’t look like a robot, but it has artificial intelligence”.

In a congratulatory letter, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China is willing to cooperate with other nations in promoting robotics research and development. And in the country’s 13th Five Year Plan, which will cover the 2016-2020 period, innovation is again lifted to a crucial level.

“The conference will spur the growth of the emerging robot industry and create the world’s largest robot market”, Li said. Concerns of over-stimulating the market have been raised.

The country may descend from the peak of high expectations into a “trough of disillusionment”, said Mr Zhu, who believes a smartphone-based “Planet of the Apps” is more likely than a world served by humanoid robots.