Editor:Ana Hu
China exportsemi net
In previous sharings, we have taken stock of representative foreign humanoid robot companies and their representative products. Starting from today, China exportsemi will lead everyone to start sorting out the domestic robot industry. We will see the development path of humanoid robots at home and abroad. There are obvious differences, and we will elaborate on them in detail at the end of this series. Next, let’s welcome our today’s protagonist Youbixuan to make his debut.
Youbixuan: my country's first humanoid robot commercialization enterprise, leader in the educational intelligent robot industry
UBTECH was founded in 2012. It started from the research and development of servo servos, the core source of humanoid robots, and gradually launched consumer-grade humanoid robots, educational intelligent programming robots, commercial service robots, intelligent inspection robots and other products. In 2018, UBTECH launched the large-scale robot Walker, becoming the first company in China to commercialize humanoid robots. According to a Frost & Sullivan survey report, in the field of educational intelligent robots in my country, UBTECH will have a market share of 22.5% in 2022, ranking first in the country; in the field of intelligent service robots in my country, UBTECH will have a market share of 22.5% in 2022. Accounting for 2.8%, ranking third in the country.
Figure 1: UBTECH Robotics has a wide range of products
Since its establishment, UBTECH has successfully developed a variety of humanoid robot products:
——In 2012, UBTECH was established and began to develop and design robots.
——Successfully developed and produced the first small humanoid robot, Alpha Robot, in 2014
——The Alpha robot was displayed at the China International High-tech Achievements Fair in 2015
——540 Alpha robots performed simultaneously on stage at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala in 2016
——The first-generation Walker robot was developed in 2018, achieving a breakthrough in the walking ability of Chinese bipedal robots
——In 2019, the second generation Walker robot was launched to achieve higher walking speed and free movement. Six Walker robots performed at the Spring Festival Gala.
——In 2021, a new generation of Walker robot was developed. The Walker
——Wukong robot performs at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022
UBTECH attaches great importance to research and development and has laid out core technologies in the field of robotics. According to the UBTECH prospectus, UBTECH’s R&D expense rates from 2020 to 2022 were 57.9%, 63.3%, and 42.5% respectively, maintaining above 40%. From January to April 2023, UBTECH invested 161 million yuan in R&D, and the R&D expense rate was as high as 122.1%. The technologies that UBTECH currently focuses on include robotics (robot motion planning and control technology and servo drives), artificial intelligence technology (computer vision and voice interaction technology), robot and artificial intelligence integration technology (SLAM and autonomous technology, visual servoing) operation and human-computer interaction), and realizes functions and control through a proprietary robot software framework-Robot Operating System Application Framework (ROSA).
Figure 2: Since 2020, UBTECH’s R&D expense rate has remained above 40%, and it independently develops key core technologies.
UBTECH has two core technologies in the field of robots: servo drive, motion planning and control technology: Servo drive : UBTECH servo driver technology is leading, and mass production has been achieved in the 0.2-200N·m torque field. Servo drives-robot joints are key hardware for developing robot control and movement capabilities. According to UBTECH's prospectus citing Frost & Sullivan information, UBTECH is one of the few companies in the world to commercialize service robots that integrate multiple servo drives as joints, and is one of the few companies in the world to achieve mass production of multiple series of servo drives. It is also one of the few companies in the world that has completed the mass production of servo drives from small torque to large torque (torque from 0.2N·m to 200N·m). With the leading advantages of servo drives, UBTECH humanoid robots can move more accurately, with up to 41 degrees of freedom, and can smoothly grasp objects of different shapes and sizes.
Figure 3: UBTECH high-torque servo drives and small- and medium-torque servo drives
Motion planning and control technology
Robot motion planning and control refers to the real-time control and management of the position, speed and force of mechanical moving parts to achieve movement according to expected motion trajectories and specific motion parameters. It is the core key technology of humanoid robots. The technologies deployed by UBTECH in this field include gait planning and control algorithms, stability control algorithms and flexibility control algorithms.
Gait planning and control algorithm: UBTECH's gait planning and control algorithm can realize gait planning and balance control to achieve normal walking of the robot. Gait planning helps the robot plan functions such as walking, going up and down stairs, and jumping; balance control enables the robot to walk on complex surfaces, preventing potential interference, and improving the stability, robustness, and environmental self-adaptability of the robot's walking.
Figure 4: Ubiselect’s gait planning and control algorithm technology helps the robot achieve stable walking
Stability control algorithm: UBTECH applies the stability control algorithm to humanoid robots to enable the robot to achieve stable control capabilities:
- Toppling recovery ability: When affected by external forces, the Ubiselect robot can correct the pace frequency and foothold during movement to improve walking stability.
- Single-leg balance ability: With the single-leg balance ability, the UBTECH robot will not be easily pushed over, has strong stability and can complete a series of different actions.
- Dynamic balance capability: Ubiselect adopts a force-position hybrid control algorithm to enable the robot to maintain balance on unstable slopes and ground.
Figure 5: The UBTECH robot has stable control capabilities and strong dynamic balance capabilities
Flexible control algorithm: UBTECH has developed its own flexible control algorithm (combining remote operation and dual-arm force control technology) to achieve flexible and safe human-computer interaction.
Figure 6: UBTECH service robots can safely interact with humans
Continued below: Humanoid Robot Industry Research: Taking stock of the best domestic humanoid robots (Part 2)
Data source: Youbixuan
Reference source: China National Securities Research Institute
"Humanoid Robot Industry Research Report" series of articles:
