One area that was regarded among the most hazardous processes involving the assembly of batteries for electric vehicles, involving the connection of high-voltage wires, has been largely incorporated by humanoid robots at the CATL battery-making plant in Luoyang, located within the province of Henan. These ‘Xiaomo robots,’ produced by Spirit AI, have replaced the most dangerous stage of battery pack assembly where workers are prone to arcing accidents, besides having a success rate of 99% on the very first try with a work intensity three times that of a human.
This will be the very first time that the humanoid robots would be applied on a mass scale to the battery industry. This project marks the beginning of the automatisation development project by the firm CATL. Xiaomo relies on the battery solutions provided by CATL. It possesses a Vision Language Action model that possesses advanced features. This system is capable of detecting very slight changes in the position of the connector. This matters a lot as a slight error creates malfunctions and also affects the high voltage parts. Nonetheless, the robotic system automatically adjusts its force requirement. This ensures that the system performs its functions correctly and without any risk. Its operational capacity exceeds that of human beings.
The application of humanoid robots for such perilous work is the embodiment of this entire changeover in the Chinese production paradigm. While the US corporations make the intelligence of the robot more sophisticated in the simulated environment before applying it, the Chinese are increasingly becoming vulnerable to the ‘learn by doing’ approach, wherein the robots are applied directly in the production unit so that the robot learns on its own. In the year 2023, the total robots introduced in the China market are 276,288, while the total robots introduced in the USA are merely 55,389.
The launching of Xiaomo is also a consequence of large-scale industrial integration in China. The entry of CATL in robotic manufacturing is a manifestation of what is called ‘industrial migration,’ whereby EV manufacturers can use their technologies in humanoid robots because of their high torque motors, battery management systems, and independent driving sensors. The perception-action cycle, which is common in EVs and humanoid robots, is enabling a spin-off effect in applying mature technologies, thus accelerating their process of commercialization. For instance, in a robotic context, precision servo motors, which are designed in EVs, have been in use in humanoid robotics concerning limb synchronization for a long time now.
Apart from the process of connector insertion, Xiaomo also specializes in other phases, for instance, End of Line testing, or Direct Current Internal Resistance, all of which are phases that entail stringent high voltage connections before the shipment of the products as the battery packs move out of the assembly lines. In the off-times during the operation of the manufacturing process, the robots are utilized in the inspection process, whereby the condition of the wiring harnesses is verified in real-time, hence contributing to improved yields due to reduced defective products.
CATL’s robotic ventures are in line with the general government plan for China to master embedded artificial intelligence and intelligence inherent in physical devices and to accelerate its rapid development and use. The provinces are competing amongst themselves for robotic heroes, offering up to RMB 100 million in subsidies in special cases. CATL’s robotic ventures are in line with the general government plan for China to master embedded artificial intelligence and intelligence inherent in physical devices and to accelerate its rapid development and use. The provinces are competing amongst themselves for robotic heroes, offering up to RMB 100 million in subsidies in special cases.
The industry has seen an epidemic of humanoid robotic creation, which is expected to mushroom from RMB 2.8 billion in 2024 to RMB 100 billion in 2030. Other Chinese auto manufacturers soon followed suit. Changan Automobile has put in CNY 225 million into the robotic company of its choice, which plans to put out prototypes by 2026. Xpeng has just launched the latest version of their humanoid robot, Iron, which plans to sell one million units in the year 2030. UBTech Robotics has tested the Walker S1 robots in the Zeekr factories, while AgiBot plans to install close to 100 manufacturing robots in the auto parts manufacturers.
These plans can only show how ready the Chinese are to allow the robots to enter their manufactories in humanoid form. While CATL has not yet announced how many units of the Xiaomo robots are in use, nor any details on how much they are charged to the company, projections are towards Chinese humanoid robots being priced between RMB 300,000 to 500,000 ($42,000 to 70,000), although to easily gain back in two years’ time the return on their costs, their pricing will have to be close to RMB 100,000. Scaling up their production will therefore be very critical for them.
At least on the level of their manufacture performance, their use in the manufacture floor immediately proves to provide conclusive confirmation not only of the safety advantages of humanoid robots in a high-voltage manufacture environment in CATL’s case, in general safeguards against damage to robots due to high-voltage electrical discharges in this industry in AgiBot’s case, in UBTech’s case to prevent robots from damaging themselves in high-voltage manufacture environments,’ in UBTech’s case in general to prevent the robots’ batteries from being charged too high in high-voltage manufacture environments in Xpeng’s case in general to improve the efficiency advantage offered by humanoid robots in high-voltage manufacture environments, in Changan’s case in general