Leading robotics with industrial scenariosXiaoyu and Beihang build a new base for embodied intelligence
AI Translation Notice: This article was translated with the assistance of AI and is for reference only. In case of any discrepancy, the original Chinese text shall prevail.
Xinhuanet, Beijing, May 3 (Reporter Zhang Xiao) — Can you imagine operating a welding robot the way you operate an iPhone? A Beijing company has provided the answer. While many humanoid robots in the industry are still stuck in flashy scenarios such as stage performances and entertainment moves, Beijing Xiaoyubot Technology Co., Ltd. has taken root in the real economy, anchoring itself in the rigid-demand scenarios of industry and seeking the "greatest common divisor" of robot applications.
Xiaoyubot and Beihang Launch a Joint Lab for Industrial Embodied Intelligence
Recently, Beijing Xiaoyubot Technology Co., Ltd. and Beihang University (Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics) officially unveiled a Joint Laboratory of Industrial Embodied Intelligence, deeply integrating industry, academia and research to push embodied intelligence from "flashy demonstrations" toward "industrial combat," injecting momentum into the intelligent transformation of Chinese manufacturing.
At present, the embodied-intelligence field is heating up, with large amounts of resources pouring into humanoid-robot demonstrations and consumer-grade entertainment scenarios — yet, to a certain extent, there are problems such as few applications and a missing commercialization loop. Qiao Zhongliang, founder and CEO of Xiaoyubot, said that since its founding in 2023, Xiaoyubot has always focused on industrial applications, plunging into industrial front lines such as shipyards, steel-structure workshops and aerospace assembly, deeply cultivating the rigid-demand industrial scenario of intelligent welding, and walking a differentiated path.
Operating a Welding Robot Like a Phone
At the Xiaoyubot lab, the reporter saw that — with no professional programming and no complex training — an ordinary worker can complete operation through simple interaction, just like operating a phone, achieving one person operating four welding units, with welding precision and quality far exceeding manual work. "Injecting the minimalist interaction logic of consumer electronics into robot R&D can accelerate the solving of the 'labor shortage' while protecting workers' safety, truly returning robots to their essence as productivity tools," Qiao Zhongliang said.
This Joint Laboratory of Industrial Embodied Intelligence, established by Beihang and Xiaoyubot, relies on Beihang's technical accumulation in artificial intelligence and aerospace engineering, combines Xiaoyubot' deployment experience in non-standard industrial scenarios, and brings together forces from government, academia and industry. Lyu Weifeng, vice president of Beihang University, said the joint laboratory will focus on frontier breakthroughs, deepen the integration of industry and education, cultivate top interdisciplinary talent in embodied intelligence, and build a new benchmark for collaborative innovation across industry, academia and research.
Making Embodied Intelligence Serve the Real Economy
"Major technological innovation must first be applied in production, then popularized in daily life," Qiao Zhongliang said. The ultimate value of embodied intelligence is to serve the real economy. Xiaoyubot adheres to the "One Brain, Multiple Forms" technology route, taking industrial welding as an entry point to accumulate core capabilities such as a general-purpose intelligent brain, controller and operating system, then gradually expanding to industrial scenarios such as riveting, grinding and spraying, ultimately achieving the large-scale deployment of general-purpose embodied intelligence. At present, the relevant products have completed technical exploration, product validation and benchmark deployment, and are in mass-production delivery at more than ten factories.
Zheng Zhiming, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the difficulty of artificial intelligence lies in the deep fusion of data space and physical space; embodied intelligence is a must-contest ground in today's global technology competition, as well as a strategic force for reshaping the underlying logic of national industrial manufacturing and developing new quality productive forces. The joint laboratory provides an excellent opportunity for industry-academia-research application, and should combine the pain points and bottlenecks of the lab, the school and the industry to help build a manufacturing power.
Qiao Zhongliang said that in the future Xiaoyubot will take the joint laboratory as an innovation engine, continue to deeply cultivate industrial embodied intelligence, and inject strong momentum into the intelligent transformation of manufacturing.