According to reports from the Central Radio and Television Station’s Economic Voice, what would it be like to bring humanoid robots and generative artificial intelligence to the competition arena?The finals of the 3rd National Industrial and Information Technology Skills Competition opened on the 26th in Chongqing. Over 800 outstanding contestants from across the country focused on key areas such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles, intelligent industrial robots, industrial big data, digital transformation of manufacturing, and innovative applications of the industrial internet, competing on the same stage.
“The robots are not controlled by us; we only need to complete their underlying motion code and let the robots act autonomously.”
From Hubei, Zhang Chuanqi is a university student participating in the student group innovation competition for intelligent industrial robots. The participating industrial robots are uniformly required to be humanoid robots, marking the first time humanoid robots compete in an industrial setting. Zhang Chuanqi needs to collaborate with his classmates to program their humanoid robot in a very short time, enabling it to autonomously complete four tasks: interaction, walking, transporting items, and intelligent sorting. While these tasks may seem easy to demonstrate, executing them in an industrial context is quite challenging.
Zhang Chuanqi explained: “Generally, performance robots walk on flat surfaces, but industrial robots must overcome issues present in actual industrial environments. First, there may be uneven surfaces in industrial settings, so we need to give it flexible operational capabilities, allowing it to cross obstacles, recognize the surrounding environment, and navigate around these complexities to complete tasks, such as moving through shelves. This is what differentiates it from entertainment robots.”
Pibi Yan from Chongqing Vocational and Technical College is participating in the generative artificial intelligence system application competition for employees. The examination setup consists of a workbench, a computer, and four robotic arms. Pibi Yan must collect data, program, and train a large model on-site.
Pibi Yan stated: “First, we collect data through human input (robotic arm movements), then we program and incorporate our large model’s algorithms to train the data we collected in a specific environment, allowing the two robotic arms to autonomously perform actions.”
In people’s minds, generative artificial intelligence is often seen as a sci-fi black box. However, here, Pibi Yan must train a large model on-site to solve practical problems.
Pibi Yan further explained: “For instance, during our previous provincial competition, we sorted screws and nuts. The screws and nuts were placed in front of us, and we could identify which was which. Then, we used voice commands to control the robot to complete the sorting task, placing screws in the screw box and nuts in the nut box. This is a relatively concrete and simple application scenario.”
Chips are currently the focal point of global technological competition. Zhong Yefa from Hunan Railway Vocational and Technical College is participating in the mixed integrated circuit assembly and debugging competition, with the core task of assembling and debugging chips to ensure their stable and efficient operation.
Zhong Yefa said: “There is a box over there containing chips, and it will issue a task sheet. We write suitable code based on the task sheet to achieve the desired effect. For example, AI simulation to enable drones to automatically track and avoid obstacles. It all comes down to whose results are better, which will naturally score higher.”
Experts point out that technological competition ultimately boils down to talent competition, and the role of skilled technical personnel cannot be overlooked. In recent years, China’s artificial intelligence has developed rapidly, with many focusing on research and development. In fact, applying artificial intelligence in various scenarios is also a significant advantage for China. Promoting research through application has driven technological progress and cultivated a large number of skilled technical personnel.
The National Industrial and Information Technology Skills Competition focuses on advancing the strategic needs of new industrialization, aiming to create a platform for showcasing technical and skilled talent in the field of industrial and information technology, an innovative technology exchange platform, and a demonstration platform for industry-education integration. Hao Zhiqiang, Director of the Education and Examination Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that this year’s competition has deepened the integration of industry and talent.
Hao Zhiqiang stated: “The competition adheres to an industry demand-oriented approach, promoting the deep integration of the talent chain and the industrial chain. It strengthens talent incentives and growth support, incorporating outstanding contestants into the manufacturing talent support program, and facilitating the career development pathway for technical and skilled personnel.”“
Source: Central Broadcasting Network Client
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