To implement the guiding principles of documents such as the “Several Policy Measures of Guangdong Province to Promote the Innovative Development of the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Industries,” seize the opportunities presented by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, and advance the “three-pronged approach” of transforming traditional industries, fostering emerging industries, and laying out future industries, this plan is hereby formulated to establish the intelligent robotics industry as a new engine for high-quality development and a new pillar of the city’s economy, thereby supporting the goal of “building a new Foshan.”
I. Development Goals
By 2027, the output value of complete intelligent robot units will exceed 20 billion yuan, and revenue from related industries will exceed 200 billion yuan; by 2030, the output value of complete intelligent robot units will exceed 100 billion yuan, and revenue from related industries will exceed 500 billion yuan, establishing the city as the Greater Bay Area’s hub for the incubation, innovation, and application of intelligent robots.The intelligence level of industrial robots will be significantly enhanced, with comprehensive indicators reaching internationally advanced standards, establishing Foshan as a national hub for innovation and integrated application in the industrial robotics sector. The innovation capacity, high-end manufacturing capabilities, and industrial chain support of the service and special-purpose robotics industries will be comprehensively upgraded, forming a diverse and distinctive product system and establishing Foshan as a national cluster for service and special-purpose robots. For embodied robots, breakthroughs will be achieved in a number of core technologies for key components, and an industrial layout for the large-scale production of key components and robot bodies will be established.Typical application scenarios will be deeply expanded, creating a number of demonstration scenarios and benchmarks in areas such as production, daily life, and urban management.
1 Intelligent robots are robots equipped with functions such as perception, cognition, decision-making, and execution, and possess a certain degree of autonomous operation capability in unstructured or dynamic environments. Based on application scenarios, they can be classified into industrial robots, service robots, special-purpose robots, and other robots.
2. Embodied robots are robots characterized by self-perception, self-decision-making, self-planning, and self-execution. They represent a typical fusion of artificial intelligence and robotics and constitute an advanced form of intelligent robots.
II. Key Tasks
(1) Product Innovation Acceleration Initiative.
Keeping pace with the trend of deep integration between artificial intelligence and robotics, we will develop industrial robots, service robots, special-purpose robots, and embodied robots in a manner suited to local conditions, building a product system that balances B2B and B2C markets while fostering synergy between traditional and emerging sectors.
1. Consolidate and Enhance Industrial Robots. Focusing on the intelligentization of industrial robots, support companies such as KUKA, Han’s Laser, and Feixi in achieving breakthroughs in core foundational technologies like flexible force control, and develop collaborative robots featuring lightweight designs, joint force sensing, compliant control, and intelligent process learning.Support companies such as KUKA, Huashu, Estun, and Jiateng in conducting integrated R&D on robot platforms and core components, accelerating the development of heavy-duty industrial robots, industrial hybrid robots, high-precision industrial robots, and intelligent logistics robots. Support robot system integrators such as Huibo and Longsheng in developing advanced, practical, and easily deployable system solutions for specific sectors, and in launching standardized and customized complete equipment packages.
2. Innovate and develop service robots. Focusing on the integration and innovation of artificial intelligence and home appliances, support enterprises such as Midea, Galanz, Xinbao, Yinxing, and Viomi in applying cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence, edge computing models, and embodied intelligence to accelerate design innovation, product upgrades, and form factor transformations. Promote the intelligent transformation of home appliances, the robotization of smart home appliances, and the integration of service robots into home appliances, with a focus on developing household service robots for domestic services, emotional companionship, children’s education, and leisure and entertainment.Promote the comprehensive integration of AI capabilities into home products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and mattresses; accelerate the interoperability of smart home products; and enhance the “intelligent” content of the slogan “Wherever there is a home, there is a product made in Foshan.” Support enterprises such as Yingfeng Intelligent, Aican, and Tianbo Information in achieving breakthroughs in technologies like smart sensing, semantic analysis, and visual recognition to improve human-machine interaction levels, and accelerate the development of public service robots for sanitation, catering, disinfection, guidance, and delivery.
3. Actively develop special-purpose robots. Focusing on meeting specialized needs, we will achieve breakthroughs in key technologies such as information sensing and data transmission in special environments, navigation and positioning, as well as teleoperation and precision manipulation, to enhance the core competitiveness of special-purpose robots across all categories. We will support companies like Aomadi in focusing on smart construction scenarios to develop construction robots for concrete pouring, floor and wall decoration, component installation, and welding, while exploring new “human-machine collaboration” organizational models.Support enterprises such as Kekaida and Guanneng Electric in focusing on power operation scenarios to develop power robots for energy infrastructure construction, inspection, operation, maintenance, and emergency response. Support enterprises such as Metvision, Opumandi, and Changmugu in targeting smart healthcare scenarios to accelerate the development of products including ophthalmic surgery robots, orthopedic robots, rehabilitation robots, and laparoscopic surgery robots; support enterprises such as Dongfang Medical and Kaiyang Medical in creating smart medical and health terminals.Encourage leading enterprises to expand into other specialized robotics fields, such as firefighting robots and emergency rescue support robots.
4.Accelerate the deployment of embodied robots. Starting with core components, gradually establish mass production capabilities for complete robots. Support robotics component manufacturers such as Jiya Precision Machinery, Orbi Zhongguang, Saiwei Transmission, Dengqi Motor, and Lepuda in accelerating R&D for key components—including high-precision reducers, high-end servo drives, high-performance controllers, new-generation sensors, and high-strength lightweight materials—to create a range of advanced compatible hardware and enhance support capabilities for complete embodied robots.Leveraging the advantages of robot chassis manufacturing and application scenarios, we will guide the R&D, production, and iterative upgrades of basic and functional embodied robot systems within our city. We will encourage enterprises such as Midea, Tiantai, and PureMi to develop humanoid robot products. We will support robotics companies in developing embodied robot systems tailored to specific industries and scenarios based on universal chassis platforms, and accelerate the research and industrialization of reconfigurable assembly and manufacturing systems based on embodied robots.
(2) Key Components Breakthrough Initiative.
Improve the industrial technology innovation system, enhance the collaborative innovation capabilities of industry, academia, and research institutions, focus on tackling core technologies for key components of intelligent robots, and secure a leading position in the development of key components for intelligent robots.
5. Establish and Improve the Innovation System. Strengthen cooperation with research institutions such as the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; introduce or jointly establish joint innovation centers and research institutes for the intelligent robotics industry to create open public innovation platforms. Relying on major innovation platforms such as the Ji Hua Laboratory, the Blue Orange Laboratory, the Foshan Intelligent Equipment Technology Research Institute, and the South China Intelligent Robotics Innovation Research Institute, strengthen the capacity for source-driven innovation.Support enterprises in establishing R&D institutions such as manufacturing innovation centers, technology innovation centers, engineering research centers, engineering technology research centers, and intellectual property operation centers in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. Strengthen industry-university-research collaboration and explore a regional-institutional cooperation model characterized by “local practice driving institutional innovation + local transfer and commercialization of innovation outcomes.”
6. Strengthen research and development of key technologies. Focus on technological breakthroughs in core components such as control systems, servo systems, reducers, sensors, end-effectors, and new materials. For control systems, prioritize the development of controller hardware systems featuring high real-time performance, high reliability, and multi-processor parallel operation. For servo systems, prioritize the development of high-power, high-precision, high-dynamic-response, and highly reliable servo motors and intelligent integrated joints.For reducers, prioritize the R&D of precision reducers such as RV reducers, harmonic reducers, and planetary reducers. For sensors, prioritize the R&D of products such as six-axis force sensors, joint torque sensors, audiovisual sensors, and inertial sensors. For intelligent end-effectors, prioritize the R&D of products such as dexterous five-fingered hands, flexible grippers, and air-cushion end-effectors. For new materials, prioritize the R&D of high-strength, lightweight materials such as new alloys and specialty plastics.
7. Accelerate the commercialization of technological achievements. Expedite the construction of a series of proof-of-concept and pilot production platforms in the intelligent robotics sector to accelerate the engineering, productization, and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements.Improve the Foshan Science and Technology Big Data Platform to promote the open sharing of innovation resources—such as pilot production platforms and scientific research equipment—with intelligent robotics research teams and startups. Accelerate the cultivation of technology managers in the intelligent robotics sector to strengthen the links between the innovation chain and the industrial chain. Organize high-level competitions for the transfer and commercialization of high-value patents to support the implementation and commercialization of a range of intelligent robotics patent projects.
(III) Industrial Scale Leapfrog Action.
Strengthen municipal-level coordination, optimize industrial layout, and build a high-quality portfolio of specialized facilities to establish tiered, synergistically developing industrial clusters, thereby driving a leap in industrial scale.
8. Cultivate a “goose-formation” enterprise hierarchy. Support leading enterprises in implementing mergers and reorganizations, as well as joint ventures and cooperation, to build industry leaders with ecosystem dominance and global competitiveness. Support eligible enterprises in entering the new field of embodied intelligent robots through internal entrepreneurship and investment incubation.Optimize the environment for entrepreneurship and innovation, and support high-level talent teams in the intelligent robotics field to start businesses in Foshan. Target the core industrial chain of intelligent robotics, implement categorized measures and targeted support, and add more than 10 new “Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative” (SED) “Little Giant” enterprises, manufacturing single-champion enterprises, and unicorn enterprises, thereby forming an enterprise ecosystem characterized by orderly tiers, collaborative support, and mutual benefit.
9. Optimize the industrial spatial layout. Establish an overall industrial layout for intelligent robots featuring “one core, two wings, and five clusters.” Connect with the Guangzhou-Foshan “1+4” Start-up Zone 3 and the Sanlongwan Core Area. Leveraging the industrial foundation of the Foshan Beijiao Robot Valley Smart Manufacturing Industrial Park and the advantages of surrounding resource aggregation, create a core for intelligent robot R&D and manufacturing that integrates research, innovation, and smart manufacturing.Leveraging the Lin-Guang-Gao Expressway and rail transit, we will strengthen regional synergy within the “Golden Inner Bay” area to establish the “Northern Wing” Integrated Application Innovation Zone and the “Southern Wing” Core Components Manufacturing Zone. Under the “One Core, Two Wings” master plan, we will arrange five functional clusters: an Intelligent Manufacturing Cluster centered on the Beijiao Robot Valley Smart Manufacturing Industrial Park; an Artificial Intelligence Cluster centered on innovation hubs such as the Jihua Laboratory;an Integrated Application Cluster centered on the China (Guangdong) Robot Integration Innovation Center, the Nanhai Intelligent Robot Science and Technology Park, and the Talent Lighthouse Industrial Park; promote the development of an Embodied Intelligence Cluster in the Daliang Yunlu Area; and promote the development of a Core Components Cluster in the Shunde High-Tech Zone and the Magang and Suixiang areas.
3. The “Guangzhou South Station–Foshan Sanlongwan–Guangzhou Liwan Hailong” pilot zone, as well as the “Nansha–Shunde,” “Liwan–Nanhai,” “Baiyun–Nanhai,” and “Huadu–Sanshui” experimental zones, planned and constructed under the Guangzhou-Foshan High-Quality Development Integration Pilot Zone.
10. Accelerate efforts to strengthen, consolidate, and stabilize industrial chains. Strengthen chain-based thinking, map out industrial investment attraction strategies, and vigorously attract enterprises engaged in the production of complete intelligent robots, key components, software development, and system integration. Capitalize on the cutting-edge characteristics of embodied intelligent robots, target universities, research institutes, and key talent teams, enhance services for the commercialization of technological achievements, and proactively carry out project and enterprise incubation.We will build and upgrade a batch of high-quality, low-cost, and rapidly deployable specialized facilities for intelligent robots, enhancing service capabilities in areas such as entrepreneurship training, shared services, equity investment, acquisition and commercialization, and resource aggregation. By coordinating resources across the city and districts, we will establish a “green channel” for key city-wide artificial intelligence and robotics projects, expediting approvals for project land use, environmental impact assessments, energy conservation, and forest land use in accordance with laws and regulations, and optimizing the full-process investment attraction mechanism covering technology introduction, capital matching, project implementation, and enterprise cultivation.
(IV) Artificial Intelligence Foundation-Strengthening Initiative.
Focusing on areas such as intelligent robotics systems, vertical-specific models, and intelligent software, we will accelerate the innovative allocation of production factors to support the intelligent upgrading of key industries and the development of intelligent products.
11. Achieve Key Breakthroughs in Embodied Intelligence Technology. Support leading robotics enterprises such as KUKA, Huashu, Ruobo, and Tiantai in tackling multimodal perception systems, building motion control algorithm libraries, and developing motion control models to enhance the coordination and precise control capabilities of intelligent robots in complex environments.Encourage leading enterprises to develop embodied intelligence models—such as image-language models and image-language-action models—based on general-purpose multimodal large language models. Support enterprises, universities, research institutes, industry associations, and pilot testing platforms in jointly establishing open-source communities, open-source ecosystem centers, data collection platforms, and related public service platforms in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. These platforms will provide services including technical exchange and sharing, ecosystem promotion and cultivation, open industry big data training repositories, open large-model evaluation services, and embodied intelligence datasets.
12. Accelerate the R&D and application of vertical-specific models. Support enterprises such as Meiyun Zhishu and Jinfu Technology in developing industry-specific models, scenario-specific models, and edge models based on approved large-model foundations, thereby creating a set of replicable and scalable industry-level solutions. Support telecom operators and digital transformation service providers in building model and algorithm marketplaces for industrial verticals, exploring “out-of-the-box” services such as model selection, customization, and deployment.Comprehensively increase the penetration rate of “large-scale models + small-scale models” in smart manufacturing scenarios to elevate the level of intelligence in Foshan manufacturing.
13. Promote the iterative upgrading of industrial software. Support digital transformation service providers in addressing the needs of intelligent manufacturing upgrades by integrating industry-specific scenario data, technologies, and processes based on artificial intelligence to provide professional software solutions. Encourage leading enterprises in digital and intelligent transformation to incubate software and information service companies, precisely delivering high-quality, fast-acting, and replicable digital transformation solutions. Support software and information service enterprises in developing commercial software that integrates artificial intelligence applications to build a “smart assistant + software” ecosystem.
(V) Application Scenario Expansion Initiative.
Coordinate the opening of a batch of innovative application scenarios for intelligent robots, facilitate the matching of supply and demand in these scenarios, and create city-level “Intelligent Robots+” application scenarios to foster a range of new services, business models, and industry formats.
14. Precisely Facilitate the Matching of Application Scenario Supply and Demand. Targeting sectors such as manufacturing, culture and tourism, municipal administration, healthcare, emergency response, inspection and maintenance, logistics, education, urban management, and home services, establish a mechanism for soliciting and publishing application scenarios to form an industrial cultivation system that “provides policies,” “provides projects,” and “provides opportunities.”Establish a routine service mechanism for matching supply and demand, strengthen collaborative R&D partnerships and incentives for first-time trials and adoptions, promote product iteration and refinement, and bridge the “last mile” for scenario implementation. Coordinate the identification and opening of various application scenarios, create a series of exemplary cases for AI and robotics applications, and enhance the promotion of outstanding products, exemplary scenarios, and solutions to drive improvements in product adaptability and expand the application market scale.
15. Conduct orderly promotion and demonstration of application scenarios.Conduct “Smart Robots + Factories” application demonstrations, and build demonstration production lines, workshops, and factories by tier and category. Conduct “Smart Robots + Daily Life” application demonstrations, support the construction of demonstration scenarios in public spaces such as commercial centers and transportation hubs, and expand the application of smart robots in diverse service scenarios. Conduct “Smart Robots + Smart Cities” application demonstrations, include smart robot products in government procurement catalogs, and encourage government agencies, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises to take the lead in creating “showcase” applications of smart robots based on their actual conditions.
16. Continuously innovate promotion models. Support intelligent robot enterprises in establishing application experience centers, and encourage the display of innovative products in science museums, cultural centers, and similar venues. Promote short-term leasing, shared services, and managed operations to accelerate the low-cost, flexible deployment of intelligent robots. Encourage capable enterprises to expand into aftermarket and derivative services—such as maintenance and repair, second-hand trading and remanufacturing, robot information services, and remote operation and maintenance—to foster new business models and formats within the robotics industry.Support industrial internet platforms such as “Meiqing” to strengthen technological and integration innovation in both hardware and software products, and to export comprehensive smart factory solutions and Foshan’s intelligent equipment to the global market.
(6) Industrial Ecosystem Co-construction Initiative.
Closely aligned with industrial development needs, we will optimize the allocation of resources such as computing power, data, and finance, continuously foster an environment that attracts talent from near and far, and build a robust ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship.
17. Improve the Computing Power Supply System. Promote the high-level development of computing power service platforms such as the Foshan Artificial Intelligence Application Empowerment Center, and strengthen the coordinated allocation of domestic computing resources. Explore the establishment of an energy consumption indicator resource pool for intelligent computing centers, enhance the assessment of load requirements and the supply of green energy for such centers, and support enterprises and operators in building or upgrading edge intelligent computing centers. Accelerate the deployment of edge computing nodes to build a large-scale industrial edge computing network.
18. Expand the supply of high-quality data. Relying on the Foshan Talent and Data Technology Group, explore public data operations and create a trusted urban data space.Support enterprises, operators, and industrial internet platforms in building enterprise- and industry-level trusted data spaces; accelerate the aggregation of high-value data from the ten major industrial clusters worth over 100 billion yuan; and develop industry-level datasets and knowledge bases. Support the implementation of the “Data Element ×” initiative to deepen the application and empowerment of data elements. Relying on the Guangzhou Data Exchange (Foshan) Service Base, improve the data service ecosystem; promote the comprehensive development of data collection, storage, cleaning, and annotation services; and support the evaluation, listing, development, and trading of data elements.
19. Strengthen Talent Attraction and Cultivation. Support artificial intelligence and intelligent robotics enterprises in recruiting urgently needed talent such as data scientists, R&D engineers, and software engineers. Relying on national research platforms and other institutions, implement capacity-building training programs focused on entrepreneurs, industrial designers, software engineers, and enterprise technical personnel.Support institutions such as Foshan University, Guangdong Neusoft University, and the School of Engineering at South China Normal University in establishing majors related to artificial intelligence and intelligent robotics, accelerating the development of a cohort of multidisciplinary robotics professionals with expertise in artificial intelligence, mechanical engineering, automation, and other relevant disciplines. Deepen the integration of industry and education as well as school-enterprise cooperation to establish a series of specialized practical training (internship) bases, cultivating a cohort of skilled workers in “manufacturing + digital technology” as well as high-skilled professionals in industrial prototyping, industrial data collection, and annotation.
20. Build a financial service system. Establish a sub-fund or special fund for the intelligent robotics industry within the Foshan New Momentum Industry Fund system. Strengthen a fault-tolerance mechanism centered on due diligence and regulatory compliance exemptions, and use state-owned funds to lead the development of a full-stage industrial fund system covering seed, angel, venture capital, and industrial phases. Support leading enterprises in going public to raise capital, and promote the formation of a virtuous cycle of “technology—industry—finance.”Make effective use of monetary policy tools such as re-lending and rediscounting to encourage banking institutions to provide long-term, low-cost financial support to start-ups. Support insurance institutions in promoting products such as comprehensive insurance for technology R&D and application, thereby stimulating enterprises’ intrinsic motivation for technological innovation.
21. Strengthen support for quality standards. Accelerate the construction of the “National Top 100 Quality Chain Enhancement Projects” for the intelligent robotics industry and establish a coordinated system of quality elements including metrology, standards, inspection, testing, and certification. Conduct pilot demonstrations for intelligent robotics standardization and work on converting patents into standards to advance the development of artificial intelligence and intelligent robotics standards systems.We will build high-level quality infrastructure, including the National Industrial Robot Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Guangdong), the Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robot Safety under the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Guangdong Provincial Laboratory for Intelligent Robot Safety and Reliability Quality Standards, and the Guangdong Provincial Industrial Robot Industry Metrology and Testing Center, to enhance testing and certification service capabilities.
III. Work Requirements
(1) Strengthen Coordination and Collaboration. Establish a Municipal Leading Group for the Development of the Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Robotics Industry to build an organizational framework featuring city-wide coordination, interdepartmental collaboration, and multi-stakeholder cooperation.Integrate government, enterprise, research, and academic resources and strengths to establish the Office of the Municipal Leading Group for the Development of the Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Robotics Industry. Innovatively implement the “Eight Ones” coordination mechanism and industrial cultivation model—comprising “one set of industrial policies, one list of key tasks, one expert team, one specialized fund, a group of distinctive specialized industrial parks, a team of professional investment promotion specialists, one service system, and one supporting state-owned enterprise”—to build an integrated development ecosystem for the “Four Chains.”
(2) Strengthen Policy Support. Coordinate and integrate support funds for industry, science and technology, and talent development; formulate special policies for the intelligent robotics industry; and increase support for key technology breakthroughs, innovative product R&D, cultivation of market entities, demonstration of application scenarios, talent team development, and industrial ecosystem clustering. Major intelligent robotics projects will receive priority support through a “tailored approach for each enterprise.”Actively promote the inclusion of intelligent robotics-related research and industrial projects in national and provincial major special programs, and seek support from special funds such as medium- and long-term special treasury bonds and central budgetary funds.
(3) Innovate Promotion Mechanisms.Establish a task-list-based advancement mechanism for the intelligent robotics industry. Dynamically compile twelve lists, including: a list of core components and technologies; a list of leading intelligent robotics technologies; a list of home appliance robotization initiatives; a list of large-scale model R&D directions; a list of innovation institutions; a list of innovative talent teams; a list of cluster planning and tasks; a list of ecosystem element development; a list of tiered enterprise cultivation; a list of enterprises for strengthening and complementing industrial chains; a list of investment institution partnerships; and a list of opportunities for scenario openness. This will drive the transformation of tasks into projects, projects into lists, and lists into concrete actions,Strengthen Implementation. Explore innovative, inclusive, and prudent regulatory models such as “regulatory sandboxes” for artificial intelligence and robotics to foster an institutional environment that encourages innovation and embraces trial-and-error.
(4) Promote Regional Collaboration. Actively integrate into the broader context of the province’s intelligent robotics industry development, leveraging Foshan’s resource endowments and industrial foundation to build a framework of complementary strengths and coordinated development. Establish the Municipal Intelligent Robotics Industry Alliance to serve as a think tank for tracking industry dynamics and analyzing new technologies and trends, thereby fostering an industrial ecosystem characterized by close collaboration, resource integration, and cluster-based development among upstream and downstream enterprises.Support enterprises and industry associations in organizing or participating in exhibitions, competitions, training sessions, and other activities related to the intelligent robotics sector.
