FROM delivering food at the doorstep to picking tea, China has witnessed a remarkable expansion in the utilization of robots across diverse settings, transforming industries and people’s daily life.

At the seventh World Intelligence Congress held from May 18 to 21 in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, a robot shaped like a mantis climbing up and down caught the attention of visitors.

It’s the first intelligent tower robot to be rolled out by State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Co.

Guided by a skilled staff member, the tower robot adeptly maneuvers its eight claws. Even when faced with obstacles like nails or tilted timber, the robot effortlessly traverses them. Upon reaching its assigned position, it deftly secures the bolts and nuts, showcasing its exceptional precision and agility.

Powered by a built-in lithium battery, the robot can work for more than 10 hours. “The assembly of transmission tower is risky. The robot integrates bionic climbing, intelligent perception, human-computer interaction, and other technologies, which can effectively reduce the risk for on-site workers,” said Ma Jun, who works at the State Grid Tianjin.

Today, the use of robots in China has expanded across various sectors, including agriculture, logistics, education and health care.

An impressive example of this technological advancement was seen in Hangzhou’s West Lake scenic spot, located in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province. Here, a tea-picking robot equipped with a sun hat made of solar panels maneuvers through rows of renowned Longjing tea bushes using its agile mechanical arms and caterpillar wheels.

The introduction of the 550-kg robot tea picker has been a boon for local tea planters, who have been facing a significant shortage of labor lately.

In southwestern China’s Guizhou Province, robots are used to conduct routine inspections at power substations in remote mountainous areas.

So far, 13 robots have been deployed at 10 power substations in the city of Tongren, where they can conduct automatic inspection patrols, according to the Guizhou branch of China Southern Power Grid.

Equipped with high-precision sensors and high-definition cameras, the robots can complete a routine patrol in 50 minutes, compared with 12 hours by humans, who must also spend another 40 minutes traveling to the substation, said Zhou Jingyu, head of the Taiping Power Substation in Tongren. (Xinhua)