During this year's annual plenary sessions, the principle of accelerating self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology to promote high-quality development was once again stressed. Meanwhile, according to the REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT 2023, as spending on R&D increased from 2.1% to over 2.5% of GDP, the contribution of scientific and technological progress to economic growth exceeded 60% in 2022.
Against the backdrop of the new era, enterprises in all fields have mushroomed and taken the leads in the global markets bolstered up by top-notch technologies and innovative spirits, showcasing the national strategy driven by innovation and technology. Among them, there are large-scale companies that rose from traditional business and keep self-evolved through these decades, as well as start-ups born to embrace innovation and globalization.
EqualOcean's new interview column themed as "Technological Innovation, Leading the World" will focus on start-ups, characterized as innovative technology and product, global competitiveness and global layout, in the advanced manufacturing, new energy, consumer technology, and digitization fields. Through close-up observation of the R&D processes and the global vision of their core management, this series aims to display the new looks and opportunities of China's technology and innovation companies. In this article, EqualOcean conducted a dialogue with Liu Jing, General Manager of Hai Robotics（Chinese: 海柔创新）, the leading company of Autonomous Case-handling Robot (ACR) systems.
EqualOcean: Please introduce the recent developments of Hai Robotics.
Hai Robotics: Established in 2016, Hai Robotics is a global logistics warehousing robot company committed to providing efficient, intelligent, and flexible automation solutions through advanced robotics and AI algorithms to improve efficiency for every warehouse and factory.
Hai Robotics's autonomous case-handling robot
Currently, Hai Robotics has increased efficiency for comprehensive service and operation in more than 30 countries and regions worldwide, with more than 1,000 commercial projects signed, and foreign business accounting for about 40% to 50%. Our services cover industries such as fashion, 3PL, retail, 3C, automotive, healthcare, cross-border e-commerce, and more. Our representative clients include world-renowned brands such as Philips, Anta, Bosch.
EqualOcean: What was the original intention and opportunity to establish the company? What are the backgrounds of the founding team?
Hai Robotics: Around 2015, the three founders of Hai Robotics noticed the social trend of aging population. At the same time, they were impressed by the strenuous work of warehouse workers during several months of on-site research. After that, they were determined to utilize the power of technology to improve the working conditions of warehouse personnel, cope with aging problems, and thus create value for society.
The founders all have STEM backgrounds and have graduated from prestigious institutes such as the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. Before founding Hai Robotics, they were engaged in the R&D of optoelectronic components.
EqualOcean: What are the stages of iteration of Hai Robotics's core products? What is its current level in the industry?
Hai Robotics: Hai Robotics has been dedicated to research and innovation in autonomous case-handling robots. Initially, we proposed the concept of a single-layer ACR, but did not bring it to market due to its limited efficiency in warehouse operations. In 2018, we officially launched our first commercial project, the Multi-Layer ACR A41, and deployed 20 robots in Lishui, Foshan, Guangdong province.
In 2019, we upgraded to a new version of Multi-Layer ACR and put it into use in a shoe and clothing warehouse in Shanghai. In mid-2020, HAIPICK A42D and HAIPICK A42N was invented. The biggest innovation of HAIPICK A42D is its ability to retrieve and store double-deep cases, significantly improving storage density. HAIPICK A42N is also an enhancement that adds compatibility with cartons.
In September 2020, we launched a scalable ACR HaiPick A42T and a laser SLAM ACR HAIPICK A42 SLAM. The former can retrieve and store cases up to 10 meters high, while the latter no longer relies on ground-based QR codes and can be operated using laser SLAM navigation technology.
At the end of 2020, we released the HaiPort, the automatic loading and unloading machine, which greatly improved picking efficiency and can retrieve 8 cases at once. In October 2021, Hai Robotics launched the fork-lifting ACR HAIPICK A3 and the dynamic adjustable ACR HAIPICK A42-FW. A3 can retrieve and store irregularly shaped cargo, including boxes, pallets, and tires, while A42-FW can retrieve and store cases of different sizes.
Hai Robotics provided several ACR solutions for Anta
In December 2022, the HaiPick system ACR and AMR solution, and the HaiQ Software Platform were launched. After years of deep cultivation in the field of ACR, Hai Robotics has solid accumulations in competitive products, leading project experience, and a 100% project delivery capability.
Hai Robotics has always sticked to the integration of hardware and software development. Software serves as an indispensible part of the warehouse solution. The scheduling ability of the software plays a crucial role in the project delivery process. Therefore, the integration of hardware and software is the long-term priority for Hai Robotics.
EqualOcean: Which countries and regions do Hai Robotics' solutions target at? How does the company provide localized services for overseas customers?
Hai Robotics: Currently, Hai Robotics has established overseas subsidiaries on major continents around the world, covering countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and others. Local employees account for over 80% of the workforce. The overseas subsidiaries have localization service capabilities, and can quickly respond to the needs of integrators and end customers, thereby improving the efficiency of operation and after-sales services.
EqualOcean: What are the core competitiveness of Hai Robotics compared to overseas robot companies?
Hai Robotics: The core competitive advantage of Hai Robotics lies in the independent R&D of its entire product line, and its cutting-edge technology. Besides, the safety of our products is highly guaranteed. Our case-handling robots have obtained CE and UL certification, which comply with the safety standards in Europe and the United States. For example, some functions like emergency stops, obstacle avoidance, collision protection, sound and light safety reminders, are developed to create a safe environment for human-robot collaboration.
EqualOcean：In 2023, what are the opportunities for industrial robotics? What obstacles need to be overcome? What are the plans of Hai Robotics regarding this?
Hai Robotics: Flexible and intelligent warehouse automation solutions will remain the mainstream demand in the market. Based on that, Hai Robotics will provide more innovative robotic products to address customer pain points. In the next 3 years, the company is scheduled to invest CNY 5 billion each year in R&D and product innovation.
At the same time, we will march towards globalization and build a win-win global partnership ecosystem. This year, Hai Robotics has fully turned to channel sales and formed a joint operation mode by building trustable partnerships. Currently, we have established partnership relations with well-known companies at home and abroad, such as SAP, Amazon Web Services, JD Logistics, and Mitsui Group, to jointly expand the global market. We look forward to cooperating with more enterprises, which can identify with Hai Robotics' values and products with certain experience and customer base in warehouse and logistics automation industry.
ACR A42T displayed in ProMat2023
About Hai Robotics
Established in 2016, Hai Robotics is committed to gathering global talents to push forward the progress of human civilization using robotics technology. Its goal is to empower every warehouse and factory with logistics robots. The HaiPick solution, which originated in 2015, is the world's first autonomous case-handling robot (ACR) system. The HaiPick solution now incorporates HaiPick robots, workstations and HAIQ Software Platform to perform picking, sorting, and transporting operations.
Hai Robotics serves various industries, including fashion, 3PL, retail, electronics, healthcare, and e-commerce, and renowned clients, including Philips, Anta, Bosch and many others. Currently, Hai Robotics is equipped with service and operation capacity across over 30 countries and regions and has achieved 1000+ business projects.
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