Robots that distribute vegetables, tubers, fruits and patrol show China's increasing automation

Liu, the CEO of ZhenRobotics, is one of millions of businessmen who are returning to work after the Chinese epidemic gradually became under control.

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The top robot model of ZhenRobotics is a 68cm tall six-wheeled robot called RoboPony. This robot, a self-driving car, is like a specialized cart of retailers, hospitals, shopping malls and apartment buildings.

Unlike airlines, hotels, and other industries facing a severe crisis because of the Covid-19 epidemic, Liu said its robot orders have tripled since when an outbreak broke out.

"The epidemic makes people aware of human fragility. Robots can make up for this gap and provide services that people can trust. The level of trust in robots has increased," Liu said . significantly increased in China ".

Chinese leaders see robots as a lucrative export industry and a way to compensate for the shrinking workforce due to an aging population.

China has aggressively set up robotics development departments at universities and research institutes. Private developers can also apply for research grants and other incentives. ZhenRobotics is such a company.

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ZhenRobotics was founded in 2016 in Beijing. Liu said the company received many incentives for renting an office and a factory, etc.

The company is currently researching many technologies including machine learning, computer vision and automatic navigation. ZhenRobotics currently has a testing center in Zhejiang province and a factory in Shenzhen.

One of the robots of ZhenRobotics is patrolling around the shopping district in Shanghai. It can detect passengers not wearing a mask and remind them to always wear it. It also provides water for hand sanitizing and disease prevention information distribution.

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ZhenRobotics also has another robot model called RoboPony. It is currently selected by China's largest retailer Suning.com to deliver food and other necessities to households during an epidemic.

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Demand for e-commerce has skyrocketed since the Chinese government blocked many large cities. This has allowed companies like ZhenRobotics to reach customers and promote more of its robot models.

Even Beijing's city government has included ZhenRobotics on the list of companies that offer new disease prevention technology.

RoboPony can be controlled via smartphone application. It can carry up to 40kg of cargo and travels at a speed of 10km / h.

After the company shut down during the Lunar New Year in January, Liu returned to work on January 26 and other employees on January 30. All but two of the 50 employees returned on March 10.

Liu is currently planning to promote research on ultraviolet disinfection technology to apply on hygienic robots. The company also plans to produce about 90 robot models in the next 6 weeks.

Refer to Abacusnews