CAS opens robotics institute in Shenyang

CHINA’S national science academy on Wednesday launched its robotics and intelligent manufacturing innovation institute in Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning Province.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences said the new institute aims to aggregate robotics research resources to boost the development of intelligent manufacturing.

Yu Haibin, head of the new institute and also director of the Shenyang Institute of Automation affiliated to CAS, said the new institute will focus on the research of new tech related to national security and deep-sea scientific research, as well as forwardlooking robotics that can help boost industrial transformation and upgrading.

“We hope to break through key technologies and create an internationally renowned institute in the field of robotics and intelligent manufacturing,” Yu said.

Shenyang has more than 40 robotics companies, 12 of them established in 2017. The city’s robot industry output reached 9 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in 2017, up 28.6 percent year on year.

China is the world’s largest industrial robot market, accounting for one-third of the world’s demand, according to the International Federation of Robotics. Industrial robot sales in the country have surged in recent years and hit a record high of 141,000 pieces in 2017.