On August 20, the 2019 World Robot Conference kicked off in Yizhuang, Beijing. More than 180 well-known companies from the global robotics field made a stunning appearance with more than 700 cutting-edge products. It was a competition where robots showed off their skills and competed. The expo is another exhibition that showcases the exploration and practice of scientific researchers in the innovative direction of "animals" (bionic robots), "people" (commercial robots), "tools" (intelligent manufacturing equipment), etc., allowing "robot fans" to feel like they have met the future and touched it.

Big birds, jellyfish, sharks...

Bionic robots are particularly dazzling

Nature and technology seem to be two completely different subjects, but in fact they are inextricably linked. At this World Robot Conference, "bionic robots" that imitate living things and work with biological characteristics can be seen in particular.

"3, 2, 1!" The audience exclaimed at the moment when the silver-white bird model suddenly flashed its wings and flew into the air with great vigor. I saw it sometimes rotating, sometimes fluttering its arms, and after dozens of seconds it could fly back to the arms of its "master" accurately.

According to the relevant person in charge of Festo in Germany, this intelligent flying bird was designed by the developers as a high-performance, ultra-light flight model based on the successful analysis of the bird's flight mechanism. It has excellent aerodynamic characteristics and is extremely dexterous. The wings can not only flap up and down, but can also be driven to a specific angle through the active joint twisting drive unit, and the electronic system integrated on it can accurately and efficiently control its twisting according to the position of the wings.

The ROBK-SHARK intelligent bionic shark unmanned submersible developed by Boya Gongdao is also an industrial-grade underwater fish-shaped robot platform. According to reports, it uses a three-joint bionic tail fin as the only power source, and is equipped with a 110° wide-angle, 16x optical zoom starlight-level camera. The shell adopts a film vibration type sound-absorbing structure, which can achieve low-noise operation underwater, thereby greatly improving the concealment of the equipment.

Dexterous arms, flexible lower limbs, large and small brain switching...

Humanoid commercial robots are amazing

In the development process of robots, imitating humans has always been one of the main directions. There have been many amazing results in the field of humanoid commercial robots.

Two German companies, Agile Robots (Beijing Siling Robot) and Kininfinity, have jointly developed a wearable motion capture device (gloves + jacket) that can remotely and freely control the operation of robotic arms and dexterous hands, such as steadily grabbing mineral water bottles and continuously pouring water into a glass. Li Yang from Beijing Siling Robot Marketing Department said that this kind of motion capture remote control equipment has been applied to space-related operations to a certain extent.

In the recently released Chinese comic "Nezha: The Devil Boy Comes to the World", Zhaer's equipment Huntian Ling and Hot Wheels are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Now in the field of robotics, Youyou "Xiao Nezha" (U06), whose movements are very similar to Zha'er, has made its debut. The coordinated and free movement of its lower limbs is amazing. According to Liu Xuenan, CEO of Kangli Youlan, it uses a lower limb movement method that combines wheeling and gait, an efficient combination of fast and slow doubles, and has the ability to intelligently adapt to various complex environments.

The intelligent commercial service robot "Chuangchuang" seems to be able to "find out" children's tempers very well. According to the relevant person in charge of Chuangze, its biggest feature is that it is the first to fully open the "brain" and "cerebellum" of the robot to users, so that users can quickly learn professional knowledge in various industries and become an "expert".

Intelligent manufacturing, warehousing logistics, diving equipment...

Tool-type robots catch people's attention

When entering the industrial robot exhibition area, the most eye-catching thing is the blue complete intelligent robot arc welding production line displayed at the Yaskawa Shougang booth. According to Cao Li, the company's deputy general manager, this system can be used to assemble automobile parts intelligently, accurately and efficiently.

JD Logistics’ L4 logistics unmanned vehicle can achieve lane-level high-precision positioning through the deep integration of laser and vision and the use of high-precision maps, accurately identify vehicles and pedestrians, traffic signs and avoid obstacles, etc. There is also its independently developed mid-ware pallet access system, which mainly includes Dilang AGV, six-axis robotic arm and vision system, unmanned stacking forklift, four-way shuttle and three-dimensional shelves.

Harbin Institute of Technology Robotics Group brings a novel and unique wearable underwater power backpack developed by one of its technology companies. This underwater swim aid can switch between multiple sports modes. The backpack weighs 6.8 kg (including battery) and has a battery life of 50 minutes. It uses the power generated by the electric propeller to help divers complete some difficult actions on the surface and underwater. (Reporters Hua Ling, Liu Yuanyuan, Liu Yan)