Since the beginning of this year, newly registered unmanned retail and industrial robot-related companies have increased substantially——
"Unmanned economy" starts acceleration mode (new business forms are gaining momentum ②)
Our reporter Wang Wenzheng
In the unmanned restaurant, the delicacies cooked by the robot chef attracted many diners; outside the unmanned cafe, there were long queues of waiting customers, and the strong coffee aroma wafted from the 2.5 square meter glass house... This happened recently. A scene in Changning District, Shanghai.
Unmanned convenience stores, unmanned restaurants, unmanned distribution, unmanned factories...In recent years, the "unmanned economy" based on new technologies has developed rapidly. Data show that there are currently more than 16,000 unmanned retail-related companies in China and more than 56,000 industrial robot-related companies, with an increase of more than 30% this year. Which technologies are used in more and more "unmanned businesses"? What changes did it bring to production and life?
From manufacturing to "smart" manufacturing
——AI empowers production, improves efficiency and reduces costs, and does "hard work, tiring work, dirty work, and dangerous work" for people
Precise temperature control three-dimensional baking equipment, precision sensor counting machine and combination weigher, artificial intelligence nitrogen filling packaging system... It only takes 5 minutes to broadcast, and the number of viewers exceeds 100,000. Through the live camera of different angles, Netizens around the world have witnessed how bags of crispy and delicious Chacha seeds and "Daily Nuts" are produced from the Chacha Transparent Chemical Factory. Consumers act as "online supervisors" and have a panoramic view of the transparent production process, behind which is the rapid development of smart factories.
The National Development and Reform Commission and other 13 departments jointly issued the "Opinions on Supporting the Healthy Development of New Business Forms and New Models, Activating the Consumer Market and Driving Employment Expansion", which proposes to develop an "unmanned economy" based on new technologies, support the construction of smart factories, and achieve transparency in the production process , Intelligent production site, modern factory operation and management.
A few days ago, Shanghai announced that it would implement the "100+ Benchmarking Unmanned Factory Special Action" to build 100 benchmark unmanned factories and 10 demonstration smart factories by 2022. In this process, it is estimated that nearly 10,000 robots will be added, which will increase production efficiency by more than 20% on average and reduce operating costs by more than 20% on average.
Not only in Shanghai, but in the smart factory of Guangzhou Midea Group, more than 200 robots waving robotic arms are busy. The number of workers on the evaporator production line has been reduced from 11 to 2, and an air conditioner has been placed from order to shipment. The cycle is shortened from more than 20 days to 9 days. At the Jinconcelis Smart Factory located in Liangjiang New District, Chongqing, the crowds of people in the past were replaced by more than 1,000 robots. The key processes realize intelligent production, and only a few technicians need to control the whole process through the screen. Qingdao fully automated terminal, unmanned operation of container quay cranes, autonomous vehicles that shuttle back and forth, robots that remove container lock pads...
Industry insiders pointed out that artificial intelligence, 5G and other technologies and their applications in industrial robots, automatic driving, automatic loading and unloading and stockpiling, will hand over the monotonous, complicated, arduous and dangerous work of the production line to robots and artificial intelligence to complete. Intelligent production process becomes possible, which promotes cost reduction and efficiency increase in production, circulation and service.
In addition to the intelligence in the factory, in high-risk industries and harsh working environments, dangerous work robots can also "carry risks" on behalf of others. Taking the non-ferrous metal industry as an example, the risk of accidents in factories and mines is high, and there is an urgent need for machine replacement. In May of this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposed to promote full-process unmanned production in the above-mentioned industries, and urge enterprises to make intelligent transformation of equipment. Self-driving mining equipment will make workers no longer have to bear safety risks and harsh operating environments.
In the agricultural field, nearly 6,000 unmanned tractors and over 5,000 unmanned plant protection aircraft are participating in agricultural production in Xinjiang; Heilongjiang Friendship Farm has realized unmanned seedling transplanting, seedling planting is more uniform, and labor costs per acre are saved by 16 yuan...Unmanned tractors , Smart harvesters, smart weeders, milking robots, agricultural automation and control systems have profoundly affected agricultural production and promoted the development of smart agriculture.
"From manufacturing to agricultural production, from docks to mines, intelligence will be a typical feature of the new round of industrial revolution, and artificial intelligence empowering the real economy has become a consensus." said Wang Chongjun, deputy director of the Institute of Computer Applications, Nanjing University.
Recently, various unmanned small supermarkets on the streets of Beijing have been welcomed by citizens. The environment in the supermarket is clean and tidy to avoid crowds. The picture shows citizens shopping for daily necessities in an unmanned supermarket in Fengtai District, Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Xin
"Contactless" service
——The launch of new business formats such as unmanned driving, unmanned distribution, and unmanned retail, creating new consumption scenarios
In consumer scenarios such as retail, catering, entertainment, health, etc., there is no need for shopping guides, cashiers, consultants, waiters, and delivery personnel, and new businesses that provide unattended services based on smart technology are springing up. The "unmanned economy" has played a major role in the service industry, and the sudden new crown pneumonia epidemic has accelerated this process.
According to relevant agency data, as of the end of May this year, the number of drone-related companies in China has exceeded 55,000, unmanned retail-related companies reached 16,000, and unmanned driving-related companies exceeded 11,000. From January to May this year, only 1,827 unmanned retail-related companies were established, an increase of 37% over the same period in 2019.
Nowadays, unmanned driving, unmanned distribution, unmanned retail, unmanned hotels, unmanned restaurants, unmanned logistics and other new formats have been launched in many large and medium-sized cities.
On a section of the test road in the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Pilot Demonstration Zone in Shanghai, Didi unmanned vehicles have begun trial operation. Users in the Shanghai area can register online through the APP, and after passing the review, they can open the Didi Travel APP on the road section, select the starting and ending points of the trip in the newly added "Future Travel" section, and experience autonomous driving and online car-hailing. After getting in the car, passengers can give instructions to the car by voice, and the car will start driving automatically.
In Beijing, some white-collar workers discovered that the food delivery for them at noon is no longer the takeaway brother riding a "little donkey", but a technologically-sense driverless car. These self-driving cars belong to the chain catering company Xiaoheng Dumplings. They can deliver 40 sets of dumplings, drinks and cold dishes at a time. They are basically guaranteed to be delivered within half an hour. The efficiency surpasses the traditional delivery method and also meets the safety and hygiene requirements. "Zero touch" demand. According to Li Heng, the founder of Xiaoheng Dumplings, the company is the first catering company in China to use unmanned vehicles for delivery. “The unmannedness of China’s catering industry is accelerating. Although unmanned vehicle technology is not yet mature, it represents the future. development trend."
The application of unmanned equipment is accelerating its expansion into the logistics industry. During the anti-epidemic period, JD.com built a drone route near Baiyangdian Lake, Hebei, and used Y3-max drones to deliver living supplies to these villages. UAV delivery and delivery of UAV express delivery are becoming a new mode focused by many large logistics companies.
"Sweeping face" to open the room and check in, the voice butler realizes hardware control, robot delivery and laundry... In the hotel industry, Alibaba's unmanned operation hotel Fei Zhu Buqi is leading the unmanned hotel from concept to practice. Philippine Living has opened in Hangzhou for a year and a half. The application of cutting-edge technologies such as full-scenario identification and AI intelligence has reduced hotel operating costs. According to Wang Qun, CEO of Ali Future Hotel, the ratio of the number of guest rooms to service staff in traditional hotels is usually about 1:2, but Philippine Zhubuqi can reverse this ratio.
In the large-scale logistics intelligent unmanned warehouse of Goodaymart Logistics (Jimo) Industrial Park in Jimo Tongji New Economic Zone, Qingdao City, Shandong Province, commodities are stored in the warehouse through the panoramic intelligent scanning assembly line. Photo by Liang Xiaopeng (issued by Xinhua News Agency)
"No one" does not mean "minus people"
——While eliminating some old positions, a large number of new positions will be created and the quality of employment will be higher
The development of "unmanned economy" has enabled robots to enter the field of production on a large scale. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's current annual output of industrial robots is about 150,000 units, accounting for about 40% of the global total. According to data from the Chinese Institute of Electronics, China has become the world's largest industrial robot application market. The robot market has maintained an average growth rate of about 20% in recent years. The density of industrial robots has reached 97 units per 10,000 people, which is rapidly approaching the level of developed countries.
With more and more robots, will workers lose their jobs?
In response to the doubt that the development of the "unmanned economy" may affect employment, experts pointed out that every industrial revolution and technological revolution in human history has been accompanied by the elimination of old jobs and the creation of new jobs. Reducing some hard and dangerous jobs can create new employment opportunities in the long run.
Robots have replaced some workers, and personnel are also required to operate and maintain the robots. Not long ago, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other departments jointly promulgated the national vocational skill standards for the emerging profession of "industrial robot system operation and maintenance personnel", which pointed out the direction for relevant talent training.
"At that time, many colleagues thought that after the realization of intelligent production, they would have nothing to eat." A few years ago, Shanghai Wipag Smart Water Co., Ltd. began to build an intelligent factory. What Zhang Jianguo did not expect was that while the factory was upgraded , He and his colleagues have also improved their skills through a series of training. Zhang Jianguo seized the opportunity and now has been promoted to department head with his outstanding work ability. "Know how to'care' robots and keep them in their optimal state. Mastering these means you have a skill and you can find a place no matter where you go to work." Zhang Jianguo said.
In response to concerns about unmanned driving making online ride-hailing drivers unemployed, Cheng Wei, the founder of Didi, said that the service of drivers with warmth will not disappear due to the emergence of new technologies, and autonomous driving will also create new jobs. According to reports, Didi’s daily transaction rate is around 75%. “This means that 25% of passengers are without cars. This gap will continue to increase in the future, especially in first-tier cities.” Therefore, the market is in short supply. Under the circumstances, unmanned driving will not take away the job of the driver, and the maintenance of the vehicle also needs to be completed by the corresponding position.
The rapid development of "unmanned economy" has attracted more and more people to enter.
Jinfeng Xu, a young man from Guizhou, studied automotive electronics technology in his undergraduate studies. After graduation, he returned to his hometown and found his favorite job in Guizhou Hancase Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., which mainly produces driverless car chassis. "Based on this chassis, customers can build unmanned vehicles with various functions such as distribution, sightseeing, cleaning and disinfection, security patrols, etc., which can be widely used in parks, scenic spots, shopping malls and other scenarios. There is hope for doing here!" Xu said.
Liu Yunxi is the founder of Xixiang, a Shanghai catering company. At the end of 2019, Xixiang obtained the first "Food Business Permit" issued to smart unmanned micro-kitchens in Shanghai, and was approved to develop an unmanned bento store project without the participation of shop assistants. Liu Yunxi believes that the "unmanned economy" will create richer career choices, and the door of the unmanned industry is opening up to more workers. "For example, the company has built a cloud recipe database. In the future, more chefs in the society will be invited to upload recipes. Way to get benefits."
Zhu Zonggan, a professor at Xi'an University of Technology, pointed out that the key to coping with the employment problems caused by the "unmanned economy" lies in "employment conversion." High technology such as artificial intelligence will drive the emergence of more new consumer service scenarios and increase new types of jobs and positions. It is necessary to cultivate high-tech talents and teams, popularize relevant technologies and practical skills, and provide potential employment for "unmanned economy" Help to speed up the conversion rate of new and old occupations.