The accumulation path of foreign robot industry innovation

First, the accumulation of basic scientific research. Robotics is a combination of computer,mechanicalAn emerging discipline formed by engineering, electronics, information sensors, control theory, materials, artificial intelligence, bionics and many other disciplines. The application of new technology breakthroughs such as fuzzy control and artificial neural network has continuously improved the intelligence level of robots. It has been more than 60 years since Alan Turing put forward the concept of artificial intelligence, and artificial intelligence research and development and experiments have undergone a relatively long-term accumulation. As the management department of the United States’ long-term major defense technology research projects, as the inventor of the Internet and GPS positioning system, DARPA (US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) also includes robotics technology. DARPA has funded robotics research and development in U.S. colleges and universities since its inception. For example, the prototype of the military exoskeleton developed by Cornell University in 1962 – “the human amplification system using the master-slave control method”, and the prototype of the intelligent robot controlled by the MI supercomputer in 1968 – “Shakey”. The goal of the $100 million DARPA Advanced Manipulation Manipulator Component Program is to enable robotic hands to autonomously maneuver and perform complex tasks. DARPA focuses on basic research when promoting the “Advanced Manipulator Component Program”. Due to its advanced nature, its research results often become technical reserves for a long time, forming a lag period of more than 20 years between basic research on robotics and large-scale applications.

Second, the long-term accumulation of robot research and development.As early as 1959, Devol and Joseph Ingelberg developed the world’s firstindustryrobot. In 1961, the Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a remote control manipulator equipped with a touch sensor to connect with a computer. In the same year, American George Devol (GC Devol) patented a programmable robot. In 1968, J. McCarthy of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in the United States developed a computer system with hands, eyes and ears. In 1969, the United States Atomic Energy Commission and the National Space Administration successfully developed robots that carry artificial arms, TV cameras and pickups. In 1979, Unimation launched the PUMA series of industrial robots. In 1979, Yamanashi University Makino Hiro developed a SCARA robot with plane joints. In the 1980s, Renault Motors worked with government research institutes to develop the first generation of industrial robots for car assembly lines. Boston Dynamics was funded by the DARPA project in the early 1990s, and realized the accumulation of experimental products such as robot dogs, robot cheetahs, and humanoid robots. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have accumulated trial production in the development of military exoskeleton robots. iRobot, a star enterprise in the service robot industry, came from the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. In 1998, it was funded by DARPA’s tactical robot project to develop PackBot. The funding received from 2004 to 2005 exceeded 50 million US dollars. Due to sufficient technical reserves and research and development accumulation, in 2002, the iRobot household cleaning robot market Roomba market application was successful.

Third, innovation and accumulation covering the entire value chain of the robotics industry. In order to establish a new industrial form, a new business model, and a new industrial innovation ecosystem, intelligent robots must complete the innovation accumulation and layout in the entire value chain of R&D, design, production, supply chain, sales, and service. In order to maintain its leadership in the global robotics field, from 2014 to 2020, the European Union started robotics research and development funding projects covering the complete value chain from technology research and development to product trial production. DARPA has funded a large number of forward-looking R&D projects, such as the “Advanced Manipulation Manipulator Component Program”, inflatable robotic arms, flexible robots, self-feeding robots, etc., as well as the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) and so on.