The technological breakthrough, made possible by tactile and robotic models of artificial intelligence, has passed the critical point from theoretical research to practical application, Xiaomi announced. Thanks to these models, their robotic systems are equipped with advanced cognitive abilities and agility, thus solving the key component of robotic intelligence – tactile perception. This enabled them to be recently activated as “trainees” at the car factory.
From the laboratory to production
Under laboratory testing conditions, thousands of failed attempts are allowed, while the factory tape dictates precision measured in seconds with a high accuracy rate. After the first experiments in real conditions, Xiaomi reported the results of a three-hour autonomous operation of its robots at a station for installing self-tapping nuts. The robots there achieved a 90.2% success rate on the production line, meeting the fastest production cycle requirement of 76 seconds per unit (because that’s the rate at which finished cars roll off the production line).
The task of these test robots involves continuously and precisely lifting nuts from the automatic parts transport device and placing them on the tensioning assembly. With the help of transport slides and an automatic positioning system, the robot performs the operation on the integrated cast floors of the car. The entire process requires seamless synchronization of the robotic arm and the accompanying machine infrastructure to ensure a smooth flow of vehicles on the lane.
Although the results are promising, the first man of the company Lu Weibing stresses that the use of robots is still in its early stages, describing their current role as an “internship” rather than a formal employment relationship. Although Xiaomi introduced its first humanoid robot, CyberOne, back in 2022, the product is currently not available for commercial sale. Instead, the focus is on the internal development and improvement of technology that in the future should replace people in certain positions and perform tasks that are unfeasible for human workers.
This test period reflects a broader trend in China, but also in the auto industry, where numerous companies are rapidly investing in the development of robotic systems for integration into production processes. Recently, it became known that Toyota in Canada and BMW in Germany are already testing robots in their factories, and Xiaomi is far from the only Chinese company developing such technology.