Chinese robots step into UK spotlight

Robot Week, a 10-day showcase of Chinese robotics technologies across five industry scenarios, is underway in London, attracting interest from both the general public and experts in the United Kingdom.

From Monday until Sept 18, visitors can watch live demonstrations of robots working in logistics, hospitality, facility management, healthcare and retail sectors. Startup LEC Robotics, the host of the event, said more than 200 people attended in its first two days.

Jack Perry, founder and CEO of LEC Robotics, said that although the demand for robots in real-life applications is still limited, it will change dramatically. He predicted robots will be widely deployed in construction, agriculture, and other sectors in the next five to ten years.

"There will be an 80 percent share of the export market in robotics," he said, adding that China is well ahead in terms of gathering working environment data for training robots, while the UK is lagging behind and needs to work with Chinese partners.

"There's no other country in the world that can scale, except China, in robotics," said Perry, who is also the chairman of the 48 Group, a British organization dedicated to promoting Sino-UK trade cooperation since the 1950s.

However, Perry noted the complexity involved in selling tech products like robots and tailoring them to carry out specific tasks across industries. He said he has made frequent visits to robot companies in China to bridge the communication gaps and help them better understand local needs in the UK.

Currently, Perry's team is in talks with more than 30 robotics companies in China, and many of his partners have supplied their latest robot models, such as the XBOT coffee robot and KEENON delivery robot, to be displayed in the company's House of Robotics, which is located at 3 Imperial Road in Chelsea, west London.

Live demonstrations

Some companies also sent local staff and experts to take part in live demonstrations. Among them is BOTINKIT, which showcased its robotic kitchen solution to address the shortage of experienced chefs in the catering industry.

Kevin Hartley, the EU corporate chef with BOTINKIT, operated a cooking robot to serve beef chili with bitter chocolate and nachos with sour cream in only six minutes for a dozen visitors.

"It's like me standing with a pan making it, but it's automatically adding the right ingredients at the right time," said Hartley. "It does a consistent product at a standard that I'm happy with. It reflects me."

The Shenzhen-based company has been selling its cooking robots in quantity in the Asian market and has started expanding into Europe, with clients in the UK, Ireland and Sweden.

Kaif Kohari, a visitor who worked for an AI startup in England, said he came to look into how these robots can be put into use to reduce manual labor.

"I think the speed at which robotics develops is improving day by day, and we are very close to the future," said Kohari, who saw robots being used in hotels and shopping malls during his latest visit to Beijing earlier this year.

"In China, it's already being done," he said.

xingyi@chinadaily.com.cn