After the recent National Day holiday, Wang Xingxing, the founder and CEO of Unitree Technology, visited his hometown of Ningbo, where he had a face-to-face discussion with Mayor Tang Feifan and signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ningbo government. Since Unitree Robotics gained significant attention on the Spring Festival Gala stage, Wang's every move has attracted keen interest. This investment and collaboration in his hometown have long been anticipated by the local government and businesses. During the meeting, Wang expressed his expectation that this partnership would serve as an opportunity to further deepen and broaden cooperation with Ningbo, accelerating the development and application of intelligent robots in various scenarios, thus contributing more to the high-quality development of his hometown.
From the publicly announced cooperation details, Unitree Technology's presence in Ningbo will target the niche field of intelligent emergency robots, with promising applications in ports, electricity, chemical industries, and cultural tourism. This collaboration highlights a mutual empowerment opportunity between a leading player in China's robotics industry and a municipality capitalizing on the artificial intelligence boom. Notably, this partnership does not follow the prevalent competition in general-purpose humanoid robots but focuses on carving out a differentiated competitive niche in the intelligent emergency robot segment, aiming to establish a nationally leading industrial cluster in this field in Ningbo.
In the realm of intelligent emergency solutions, Unitree has been developing emergency robotic dogs since 2016, accumulating substantial technological expertise. Their four-legged robot, B1, boasts exceptional mobility and high protection levels, enabling it to replace firefighters in conducting reconnaissance missions in hazardous environments such as flammable, explosive, toxic, or smoke-filled areas, thereby effectively reducing rescue risks and enhancing operational efficiency. These emergency robotic dogs are expected to see initial deployments within Ningbo's port, customs, electricity, and chemical scenarios.
On October 9, after meeting with Ningbo government officials, Wang and his team promptly went to Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group to sign a cooperation agreement, focusing on collaboration around smart port construction for key projects. On the morning of October 10, key representatives from Ningbo Kaido Group conducted an on-site inspection of the intelligent four-legged robot's adaptive operational system for complex scenarios in power plants developed in collaboration with Unitree, aimed at facilitating tasks such as material handling and inspections.
By pressing the "demand-driven" fast-forward button, Ningbo is ushering in an era of diverse applications for intelligent emergency robots. On a national level, clear signals have also been released from policy frameworks. Last year, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued guidelines on accelerating the development of emergency robots, proposing the research and development of advanced emergency robots by 2025 and gradually improving the associated industrial ecosystem. This indicates that the "robotization" of emergency rescue scenarios is rapidly transitioning from theory to practice.
In addition to driving innovation in scenarios and promoting product applications, Unitree's investment in Ningbo is likely driven by the local manufacturing capabilities, which are considered a major advantage. According to the collaboration details, the establishment of the Unitree Intelligent Emergency Robot Industrial Park, the Smart Emergency and Intelligent Robotics Research Institute, and related AI computing centers and industrial funds will all materialize in Ningbo. Currently, Ningbo's total output value in the robotic industry exceeds 10 billion, and it is one of the few cities in China covering the entire industry chain, including key components, complete machines, and systems integration applications. Local companies like Zhongdali De, Ningbo Yunsheng, and Xinghuang Optoelectronics have already entered Unitree's supply chain, providing essential components for its robots.
With the intelligent robotics sector entering its "mass production" era and the acceleration of commercialization, Unitree's order volume has surged, positioning Ningbo at a pivotal moment to integrate the artificial intelligence industry. This year, dozens of publicly listed companies in the area have announced their entry into the intelligent robotics field and have completed technology innovation and product transformation. It's foreseeable that these enterprises will form an industrial cluster capable of offering key components and support for core processes, ensuring that leading firms like Unitree Technology can scale up effectively.
Looking ahead, not only will more types of intelligent robots emerge in Ningbo, but the local supply chain capabilities are also expected to continue to improve, creating a "cooperative ecosystem" for local industries. The cooperation agreement specifies that Ningbo will rely on the Unitree Intelligent Emergency Robot Industrial Park to progressively attract upstream and downstream supporting enterprises, establishing a closed-loop ecosystem encompassing "technology research and development - production manufacturing - scene application - computing support," with the goal of becoming a global demonstration center for smart emergency and intelligent robotics.
In the era of artificial intelligence, the rapid reconstruction of regional industrial division of labor has given rise to "chain reaction" and "super supplier" models. Ningbo is focusing on advantages in component and integrated manufacturing while striving to support high-tech enterprises and positioning itself strategically within critical nodes of emerging industrial chains. As emphasized by Mayor Tang Feifan during the meeting, Ningbo possesses a solid economic foundation, a complete industrial chain, first-class port conditions, abundant data resources, and rich application scenarios, all of which are unique advantages for developing the artificial intelligence industry.