Smart robotic arm that can cook for humans

 This is the product of Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology, a four-year-old startup in Shenzhen (China) specializing in the development of intelligent robotic arms.

Dobot Magician robotic arm is writing calligraphy /// Photo: Handout

Dobot Magician robotic arm is writing calligraphy

PHOTO: HANDOUT

According to the South China Morning Post, from the beginning of civilization, people have tried to use the tool to change their hands to make life easier. This trend has evolved from using spoons and forks to eat to using robots in modern times, both at work and in life.

In the 1960s, American businessman George Devol invented the Unimate, a machine that is considered the first industrial robot. General Motors uses the machine to handle welding and casting. The industrial robot arm has since then had an important place, appearing in heavy production lines.

Song Liu Peichao, a businessman who graduated from Shandong University in China, now wants to bring an industrial robotic arm into his daily life, handling everyday tasks. Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology, founded by Liu in 2015, focuses on developing a smart robotic arm that can be used for a variety of purposes, from writing calligraphy to buttering toast.

Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology kicked off as a project at the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. The company raised $620,000 in just 50 days, according to Xinhua. In a funding round last year, the company received an additional 100 million yuan, or $14 million. "We started with a smart robotic arm and wanted to sell it to ordinary families just like a home appliance," Liu said earlier this year.

Smart robotic arm that can cook for humans - photo 1

Liu Peicao is "teaching" the robot with gestures

Photo: Handout

One of its products is the Dobot Magician, a robotic arm that costs between 10,000 yuan and 16,999 yuan, or $1,400 to $2,400, with code support for users. Although this robotic arm is not advanced enough to be used at home, it still appears in the classroom for students to develop in many different ways.

A group of students from the University of Tokyo (Japan) and Connnected Robotics, which specializes in helping robots adapt to the kitchen environment, have developed Yuejiang's robotic arm into a breakfast machine. The robotic arm is currently being tested at a hotel in Japan.

Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology is not the only company focusing on developing robotic arms. Shenzhen-based Ufactory is also developing a user-friendly desktop robot arm and selling it in more than 80 countries and regions. The robotic arm allows the attachment of a wide variety of sensors and devices. For example, it can hold the hair dryer for you after you wash your hair.

Despite the industry's promise, industry experts say the robotic arm still needs a lot of work to gain consumer attention. "They're mostly toys right now, but they're growing so quickly that the time when service robots take off in the consumer market may not be far away," said David Navarro-Alarcon, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California. Hong Kong Polytechnic said.

The global robotic arm market was worth $17.9 billion in 2018, and is forecast to reach $39.2 billion by 2024, according to research firm TechSci Research. China puts many emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IOT) and robotics at the heart of many industrial upgrading plans to become the world's number one manufacturing power by 2025. .

Currently, the robotic arm market is dominated by many big names in automation in the world, such as Swedish-Swiss corporation ABB, KUKA Robotics of Germany, Fanuc Corporation and Yaskawa Electric Corporation of Japan. In terms of applications, China is the largest user of industrial robots in the world, followed by Japan. In 2018, China installed 154,000 new robotic arm units.