By Li Hongmei
An intelligent technology research unit under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China's top science research institute, announced Jan. 6 that it had successfully developed an "economical model for robots" capable of welding electronic parts on integrated circuit boards.
The development had also made the mass production of robots possible, the Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT) stated.
The achievement, as local media outlets in the western Chinese municipal city have said, represents "a new phase in Chongqing's robot manufacturing industry," the Guangzhou-based Time Weekly reported.
The Chinese-language journal further stated that the robot industry has been given national importance, now being in the development strategies of China. On Dec. 30, 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released guidelines for the development of the industrial robots manufacturing sector on the mainland, giving a push to the Chinese robot industry.
In June that year, CIGIT and five major robotic machine enterprises in Chongqing signed an investment agreement with the Liangliang New Area management office, jointly moving into the Liangliang Robot Industry Park.
Backed by abundant state funds, the industrial park, which covers 2,250 acres of lands, is set to gather over 200 robot companies by 2020 so that it can generate an annual production value of 50 billion yuan (US$8.27 billion).
In Dec. 2011, Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan began promoting his ambitious plan of building the city into a "capital of robots." Under the plan, Chongqing wanted to develop a robot industry capable of designing, developing and fabricating robots.
The CIGIT was established at that time. Now, it is staffed by a team of 25 talented researchers and technicians in robotics.
The Time Weekly reported that Chongqing is sparing no efforts to promote its robot industry and has been spurred on by an enormous need for workforce at its two pillar industries, namely automobiles and electronics.
By 2015, the automobile output of Chongqing is expected to grow from the current 12% of the total national output to 15 percent, while its electronic sector is estimated to touch a productivity level of 100 million notebooks per year. The number of industrial workers would reach 1 million by that year, the journal added.
