Robot technology becomes growing presence in China

China 24

Robots are becoming a growing presence in China.

CGTN’s Frances Kuo reports on how they are entering people’s daily lives.

When you enter the Shanghai Library, books aren’t the only things greeting you. The library has a new staff member – a robot. It can respond to more than 200 questions.

“As of now, the robot’s responding accuracy rate is about 70 percent,” said Xu Qiang of the Shanghai Library.  “We are renewing the knowledge base in the robot and adjusting it every day to increase its accuracy. We hope for the accuracy rate to reach over 95 percent in just half a year.”

Robots at one primary school in southwest Sichuan Province go a step further.

Each of the 150 students there receive a robot that helps them in their studies.

“Through these robots, the students can have access to various education resources, including classic Chinese poems and music pieces,” Zhu Bin, vice principal at Chaijing Bayi Hope Primary School said.

All the kids at the school are left-behind students – they stay with relatives in rural areas while their parents work in cities.

The robots are connected to the mobile phones of the children’s parents so they can send messages to each other.

Robots have even made their way into hospitals. 

During a surgery in Beijing, a robot was able to use flexible endoscopes, instruments that provide views inside the human body.

“A doctor can hardly avoid some trembles during an operation,” said Liu Hao, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Science.  “But the robot can avoid them. It can reach the precision of 0.08 millimeters, which cannot be reached by humans.”

“The software system of the robot can automatically identify lesions,” said Yang Yunsheng of the Chinese PLA General Hospital.  “With the development of big data, its diagnosis rate for stomach cancer can reach 80 percent.”

This robot technology is part of Beijing’s goal to become the world leader in artificial intelligence by 2025.

In the capital, plans are in the works to build an AI development park costing more than two billion dollars and housing up to 400 firms.

Chinese tech giant Baidu has doubled down on AI as a core strategy.

“It’s really about the differences you can make, the opportunities you can create,” Zhang Yaqin, president of Baidu said.  “I think China right now has so many different applications scenarios and also people are very open-minded to embracing new things.”


Scott Schober discusses advancements in robot technology in China

CGTN’s Elaine Reyes spoke with Scott Schober, president and CEO of Berkeley Varitronics Systems, about China’s expanding robot technology