china

Geek+ powers remote operations and new deployments for Decathlon in China

July 8, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

Geek+, an autonomous mobile robot manufacturer, has extended its co-operation with Decathlon, one of the world’s largest retailers of sporting goods.

Decathlon is present in over 50 countries with more than 1,600 stores globally and has been partnering with Geek+ on a successful two-year collaboration in its e-commerce and retail fulfillment centers in Shanghai.

Decathlon has now accelerated its automation program, with AMR deployments at two new sites in China. The installations were implemented remotely in under three months, following strict pandemic restrictions. [Read more…] about Geek+ powers remote operations and new deployments for Decathlon in China

Magna celebrates ‘significant milestone’ in contract manufacturing

June 30, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

Magna is celebrating what it regards as a “significant milestone” in its progress as a contract manufacturer.

The company recently built the ArcFox α-T sports utility vehicle – a battery electric vehicle – through its Zhenjiang, China joint venture contract manufacturing facility.

The $40,000 α-T symbolises the first time Magna’s complete vehicle manufacturing has expanded beyond Europe, where the company has built vehicles for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and others at its Graz, Austria facility. [Read more…] about Magna celebrates ‘significant milestone’ in contract manufacturing

ABB wins $5 million order for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota

June 26, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

ABB has won an order worth $5 million for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota.

The agreement was made through Chargedot, an ABB business unit, and is considered “a major order” in China.

GAC Toyota is the Guangzhou-based joint venture between GAC Group and Toyota. With plans to expand production of electric vehicles to 400,000 a year, the company has asked ABB to supply “several thousand electric vehicle chargers” over the next year. [Read more…] about ABB wins $5 million order for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota

Country Garden builds ‘world’s first’ robot restaurant in China

June 24, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

Country Garden says it has built what it claims is “the world’s first-ever robot restaurant complex” in Guangdong, China.

The modern eaterie was opened on June 22 by Qianxi Robot Catering Group, a subsidiary of Country Garden. The location is Shunde, a city in China’s Guangdong province.

Powered by the latest in advanced technologies, the restaurant has separate sections for Chinese food, hot pot and fast food and features a wide selection of dishes, each one of which is delivered to the waiting diner within seconds. [Read more…] about Country Garden builds ‘world’s first’ robot restaurant in China

The impact of coronavirus on e-commerce with China

June 8, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

By Matt Rivera, marketing and business expansion advisor for Asian markets in China

The spread of coronavirus has undoubtedly shifted the entire global economy. Businesses of almost every sector needed to rapidly react and navigate the challenges presented by the virus to quickly overcome them and move forward.

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to surge in Italy, Germany, Spain and nearly all over the world. Businesses in major global cities such as Rome and New York have been gravely affected by this unfortunate turn of events.

Companies are scrambling to mobilize responses, but the unpredictable nature of the virus, coupled with the obvious under-preparedness by business executives and government leaders, these responses have brought little to no success. [Read more…] about The impact of coronavirus on e-commerce with China

Business ideas emerging in China during Covid-19

May 15, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

The Covid-19 outbreak has dealt a huge economic blow to China. The country’s supply chains are collapsing, many manufacturing firms have closed down, there is minimal human interaction, and consumer behavior has changed in unprecedented ways.

However, as in all known crises, a lot of new business ideas and opportunities have come out of the prevailing crisis. Online-to-offline commerce (O2O) is on the rise, the demand for 5G has increased, and the need for online education has skyrocketed.

New shopping preferences have necessitated mass changes in China’s labor market. Employers need to hire locals with extraordinary skills and talents; workers with the needed muscle to withstand the harsh realities of the ongoing lockdown and social distancing. [Read more…] about Business ideas emerging in China during Covid-19

HGZN and Hyundai Robotics to build smart factory to manufacture robots in China

April 21, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

HGZN has partnered with Hyundai Robotics to embark on a project to build smart factory to manufacture robots in Haining, China.

The official groundbreaking ceremony for the “HGZN’s Intelligent Robot Industrialization Project” was held recently at the Economic Development Zone in Haining.

With a strong industrial city as its goal, HGZN – an acronym for Jiangsu Hagong Intelligent Robot Company – is focusing on the smart robot industrialization project. [Read more…] about HGZN and Hyundai Robotics to build smart factory to manufacture robots in China

Xpeng Motor build new autonomous e-car on Nvidia computing platform

April 20, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

Xpeng Motors, a Chinese electric vehicle and technology company, says its P7 smart electric sports sedan officially rolls out in China on April 27.

The Xpeng P7 features the Nvidia Drive AGX Xavier platform for its XPilot3.0.

Signaling the EV maker’s confidence in Nvidia’s AI compute platform, Xpeng also announced it will leverage the Drive platform for its next production model. [Read more…] about Xpeng Motor build new autonomous e-car on Nvidia computing platform

Industrial automation is ‘paying the price for failing to think big and invest bigger’

April 9, 2020 by Sam Francis Leave a Comment

The industrial automation sector is “paying the price for failing to think big and invest bigger”, according to a report by GlobalData.

The industrial automation sector was not in a great place before Covid-19 struck, having been slowed by flat capital expenditure and declining industrial production, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The virus has since closed factory after factory worldwide with workers sent home. The reality is that despite much hype over the years, advanced factory automation has not been substituted for human workers at scale. [Read more…] about Industrial automation is ‘paying the price for failing to think big and invest bigger’

Robots and AI playing their part in coronavirus cleanup

April 9, 2020 by Mai Tao Leave a Comment

As China finally ends the lockdown it imposed on Wuhan about two-and-a-half months ago, we look at some of the cleanup operations involving robots and artificial intelligence in the country.

UBTech Robotics has been at the forefront of robotic and AI implementations fighting Covid-19 away from of hospitals. Below are some examples.

Back to school

At the school gates of two major middle schools – Kunming Number 3 Middle School and Kunming Dianchi Middle School – in Yunnan province, southwest of China, students returning from prolonged absence for Covid-19 fear are now greeted by a robot instead of a human. [Read more…] about Robots and AI playing their part in coronavirus cleanup