Industry background
Once hot topics of news and public discussions, words like Industrial 4.0 and smart manufacturing have been catch phrases in the past decade. However, in recent years, these erstwhile buzz words have gradually lost lusters and sounded more like common names. In the mean time, robotics and automation are becoming increasingly extensive, both in daily life, industrial sectors, and more avant garde fields.
What are hybrid robots?
Hybrid robots are as a relatively new type of robots that aim at combining the functionality of two or more conventional robotic manipulators to create more efficient and versatile machines. The hybrid robotic systems usually comprise a hard and a soft sub-system.
Promising applications of hybrids
This emerging robotic fleet have demonstrated tremendous potentials and market value in a number of disciplines, including auto-making, electronics, and biomedical applications.
Development of hybrid robots in China
Nearly a decade has past since robotic makers in China embarked their journey on the creation of hybrids in 2015. Admittedly, the market is still quite restricted in size due to high technology barriers, but a handful of star players have budded and poised for their turn to shine.
Here is a list of heavyweight players that have recently joined the race.
Westwell released its first hybrid product Well-Bot at 2024 WAIC.
Hikrobot rolled out its new product line of hybrid robots at Canton Expo this May.
MSI demonstrated its latest innovative solution for AMRs with a groundbreaking hybrid formula: AMR-AI-Cobot Pro.
