‍By CGTN’s Tian Wei and Ding Dai 

A Beijing-based organization called Robot Speak is a platform where global high-end technology experts converge. CGTN’s Tian Wei recently had a chat with the Chinese-built robot, Yoby, and Dr. Gan Zhongxue, the president of Ningbo Institute of Intelligent Manufacturing Industry, to find out how the other side "lives." 

Dr. Gan believes robots will become the next generation intelligence terminal, or smart terminal. “At the beginning, personal computers were smart terminals, and after 10 to 15 years, smart phones like the iPhone have become the smart terminal for everyone. In the next 10 years, I predict robots will become next generation terminal for everybody.”

Dr. Gan also notes that safety is the top priority for now and the future in the robotics industry. “Robots are developed by human beings. We need to make a friendly robot for everybody now. In the future, we need robots to serve human beings. If a robot hurts a human, we need to be prepared.”

CGTN screenshot

The global robot industry has witnessed huge development over the years. Its market size keeps on expanding, with governments and multinational companies actively investing in the industry. The global robot market sales in 2016 were about 20 billion US dollars, industrial robots dominated two-thirds of that market. 

Among those sales, a third comes from industrial robot sales in China. China has become the world's largest industrial robot market, and the Chinese government is now working on a series of policies to support and guide the industry.