"Clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp…"
On the afternoon of the 20th, when we stepped into a production base in the Yizhuang Economic and Technological Development Zone, a humanoid (human-shaped robot) industry hub in Beijing, two adult male-sized humanoids were walking on treadmills with heavy, rhythmic footsteps. They are part of the "Tiangong" series from the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center (hereafter the innovation center), which made waves after taking first place at a humanoid half marathon held in Beijing last year.
The official name here is the "pilot test verification platform" under the innovation center, which supports everything from pilot production of humanoids to mass production. With a total area of 9,700㎡ (about 3,000 pyeong), it can produce up to 5,000 units a year. This production facility is also open to other industries, universities, and research institutions. It provides six one-stop functions: ▲prototype production ▲performance verification ▲process optimization ▲functional module adjustment and assembly ▲finished goods assembly ▲test verification. This place is mid-stage infrastructure that links research and development-stage humanoids to actual mass production, an area where China is making concentrated investments to speed up commercialization in the humanoid industry.
On site that day, production was in full swing for the bipedal humanoid Tiangong and the wheeled humanoid "Tianyi," both developed by the innovation center. Large-part production and basic frame assembly are done off-site, while detailed assembly of limbs and torso and final assembly are carried out here.
When we reached the third-floor test area, several robot legs were fixed to equipment, repeating the same motion in midair. With their feet off the ground, the legs bent and straightened at the hip and knee as their durability and performance were checked. Moving to the adjacent area, rows of robot arms that had just finished assembly and were about to undergo performance verification were lined up.
Once parts such as limbs and torso are assembled and pass performance verification, they are integrated into a single body. After that comes zero-point calibration. Zero-point calibration is the process of matching sensor reference values and joint position references to eliminate product-to-product deviations. After an exterior inspection, the final finished goods are completed. In fact, on a ceiling rail installed along one side of the second floor, finished goods that had completed assembly were hanging in a row, awaiting exterior inspection. The finished goods are then moved to the second-floor test verification line.
Regarding parts supply, an on-site official said, "Tiangong and Tianyi are produced in cooperation with domestic parts manufacturers. However, we partly rely on imports for items such as semiconductor chips."
When we reached the second-floor test verification line, two humanoids set on treadmills stood out. One was walking slowly and the other was running with a short stride. An on-site official said, "This test totals 50 minutes: they run for 30 minutes and then walk for 20 minutes. We focus primarily on stability and also verify whether any screws come loose or slacken," adding, "This is conducted twice for a total of 100 minutes."
Most of the processes such as assembly, inspection, and performance verification carried out on the second and third floors were done manually. Automation was concentrated mainly in logistics processes. On the first floor here is a logistics warehouse that manages parts and materials used in production, and no human judgment is involved there. The automated system determines what materials are currently needed on the production line and sends instructions to the warehouse, and the nearest automated guided vehicle (AGV) retrieves them and delivers them to nearby workers. Workers only need to take the materials out of the basket and move them. An on-site official said, "The accuracy of the automated system is over 99%."
Going forward, the innovation center plans to automate the testing process as well. Right now, there are many manual steps, so it takes about two days from assembly to final shipment. In this process, 640 items are checked, and testing of the finished goods alone takes a full eight hours. Because of this, daily output is limited to eight units. An on-site official said, "The 'automated testing' to be completed in the future will greatly shorten production time," adding, "When that happens, output will increase further."