The World Robot Conference 2024 (WRC 2024) commenced on the morning of August 21 at the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. Yin Li, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, and Wan Gang, President of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), attended the Conference.
At the opening ceremony, the WRC 2024 officially kicked off with the start buttons pressed together by Yin Li; Wan Gang; Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology; Xu Xiaolan, Vice Chairman of China Zhi Gong Party Central Committee, Vice-President of All-China Women’s Federation and President of Chinese Institute of Electronics; Marina Bill, President of International Federation of Robotics; Qiao Hong, President of World Robot Cooperation Organization; and other Chinese and foreign guests. Xin Guobin, Jin Wei, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Beijing, Marina Bill, and Professor Alois C. Knoll from the Technical University of Munich delivered speeches respectively. The ceremony also featured the release of the Ten Trends of Humanoid Robots by Qiao Hong and the unveiling of the Robot World by Jin Wei and Xu Xiaolan.
Checking the exhibited robots
After the opening ceremony, the officials toured the World Robot Expo 2024, where they were briefed on WRC’s ten-year history. They also visited various exhibition areas and booths, including the Humanoid Robot Technology Innovation Zone, Beijing Embodied Artificial Intelligence Robotics Innovation Center (HUMANOID), Remebot Surgical Robot, Longwood Valley MedTech AI Orthopedic Surgical Robot, Beijing Jingcheng Machinery Electric Holding Co., Ltd., Beijing Surgerii Robotics Co., Ltd., Robot Era, and Booster Robotics. These exhibits showcased the latest achievements of robot technology innovation and industrial development.
Themed “Co-Fostering New Quality Productive Forces for a Shared Intelligent Future”, the WRC 2024 features a three-day main forum and 26 special forums. The conference will focus on leading-edge technologies, industrial trends and innovative achievements, so as to explore the new trends and opportunities brought about by the in-depth integration of AI with robotics. Besides, the World Robot Expo 2024 and World Robot Contest 2024 will be held concurrently. At the Expo, over 600 innovative products from 169 enterprises will be exhibited, including more than 60 products making their debut. The Contest, which highlights upskilling and talent cultivation, has attracted more than 13,000 players or 7,000-odd teams from over 10 countries to compete on the spot.
The opening ceremony was also attended by Meng Qinghai, Full-Time Vice President and Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of CAST, and Zhao Lei, Member of the Standing Committee and Secretary-General of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee. Also present were heads of relevant international organizations, experts and scholars at home and abroad, and company representatives.
