Shenzhen's municipal authorities have released a comprehensive blueprint aimed at establishing the city as a world-leading powerhouse in the intelligent robotics sector. The plan, covering 2026-2028, was jointly issued by the Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and the Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology Innovation, aligning with national and provincial strategies for robotics advancement.
The initiative responds to guidelines from the national humanoid robot innovation directive and Guangdong Province's policies for AI and robotics development. By capitalizing on emerging opportunities, Shenzhen intends to create a globally competitive industrial ecosystem for intelligent robotics.
Strategic targets for 2028
The overarching objective is to transform Shenzhen into the most influential intelligent robotics hub worldwide by 2028. The city aims to become the nation's most dynamic cluster for innovative robotics enterprises, a premier global supplier of robotics hardware and software components, and an internationally recognized robot-friendly urban center. Simultaneously, Shenzhen seeks to establish itself as the core open-source ecosystem hub for robotics within the Greater Bay Area, creating a synergistic "two zones, two centers" development framework.
The first pillar focuses on cultivating a vibrant community of robotics innovators, from industry leaders and unicorns to specialized "little giant" firms and tech startups. This approach encourages collaboration between large and small enterprises, aiming to maintain Shenzhen's national leadership in company numbers, density, and growth velocity. The goal is for internationally competitive robotics leaders to flourish locally, driving robust innovation and market vitality.
The second pillar emphasizes creating a world-class supply chain for robotics components. This involves achieving high-density local aggregation of all necessary hardware and software elements for research, manufacturing, and mass production. Core parts like sensors, actuators, reducers, and controllers will be sourced nearby, forming an efficient "half-hour supply circle." Furthermore, full-stack software capabilities, including operating systems, algorithm platforms, simulation tools, and development frameworks, will be self-developed and continuously improved. This setup would enable end-product manufacturers to complete everything from R&D to delivery within Shenzhen, making it a top choice for global robotics makers due to its supply chain reliability and speed.
The third pillar envisions Shenzhen as a model robot-friendly city, where policies, infrastructure, urban spaces, and cultural norms systematically support robot deployment. Robots would operate widely, safely, and orderly across factories, communities, homes, and public areas. Human-robot collaboration would become a city norm, with increased public acceptance and trust, yielding replicable best practices for other urban centers.
The fourth pillar aims to establish a Greater Bay Area open-source robotics ecosystem. With Shenzhen as the nexus, the plan leverages the research strengths of universities in Hong Kong and Macau alongside the manufacturing resources of the Pearl River Delta. This collaborative network will feature shared technical foundations, including open-source operating systems, public training datasets, and open algorithm models. The goal is to enhance Shenzhen's influence over technical standards and become a central hub guiding global open-source robotics trends and industry consensus.
Key work tasks
To achieve these goals, ten primary tasks have been outlined. The first involves nurturing and attracting robotics enterprises by closely monitoring the strategic moves of manufacturing giants and providing ongoing support to promising startups. The city will actively court companies specializing in embodied AI large models, dexterous hands, and planetary roller screws to relocate or expand in Shenzhen.
Second, the plan addresses corporate financing and listing needs. It leverages the guiding power of existing funds for AI, embodied robotics, and high-end equipment, mobilizing social capital to establish a city-district collaborative service mechanism. This support will be provided in accordance with regulations.
Third, a major focus is on core technological breakthroughs. The plan targets advancements in embodied AI autonomous ecosystem toolchains, embodied AI models, humanoid robot bodies, and the localization of critical components. Relying on institutions like the Shenzhen Leading Edge Open Intelligence Research Institute, efforts will target breakthroughs in motion control and generation technologies for embodied intelligence. Additionally, joint funds for robotics and AI will be established to support frontier basic research and boost original innovation.
Fourth, the initiative promotes the adoption of domestically produced operating systems in robotics. This includes refining the core framework of these systems, encouraging enterprises, universities, and experts to participate in open-source communities, and facilitating the migration of ROS core toolkit functions. Using mechanisms like "open competition for bids," companies will be encouraged to start deploying robots compatible with domestic OS in typical lightweight application scenarios, with support provided for such projects.
Fifth, the city will push for real-world training and deployment of humanoid robots and embodied AI. Through city-district collaboration, these products will be deployed in no fewer than ten real-world scenarios across industrial, service, and special environment sectors, activating a "work mode." By the end of 2026, the target is to establish more than three high-value application scenarios, accelerating the scaled development of humanoid robotics.
Sixth, the plan supports building data collection sites for embodied AI. Companies are encouraged to self-invest in these facilities for various data gathering methods, including simulation synthesis, video, first-person view (Ego), universal manipulation interfaces (UMI), exoskeletons, and physical robots. City-district partnerships will prioritize these projects through technological transformation support policies. Collaboration between robot manufacturers and downstream users will be encouraged to capture work data in real settings like industrial production, warehousing, public services, and special environments, building reusable datasets. The introduction of third-party data service providers is also planned to conduct market-based data collection, cleaning, and annotation, alleviating the industry's "data scarcity."
Seventh, Shenzhen will continue hosting high-end events. Focusing on the entire robotics supply chain, the city will keep organizing events like the FAIR PLUS conference, aiming to make it a signature brand for Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area. Annual competitions in intelligent robotics will be held to accelerate key technology iteration through competitive challenges. Support will also continue for programs like innovation camps, which recruit top global graduates to lower barriers for young talent entering the field.
Eighth, the plan emphasizes strengthening exchanges within the Greater Bay Area. This includes deepening collaborations with universities such as the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Hong Kong, and the University of Macau to jointly explore robotics technology progress and industrial application. Support will be offered for overseas legal consultations, international standards alignment, market expansion, and patent strategies. The city will work with Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, and Jiangmen to build a supply chain system where R&D happens in Shenzhen and manufacturing occurs across the bay area, potentially co-hosting robotics events on an international platform.
Implementation safeguards
To ensure successful execution, the plan outlines several supportive measures. Organizational leadership will be strengthened under the Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, coordinating districts and units to integrate city-wide resources and mobilize efforts from academia, enterprises, and other stakeholders.
Policy support will be refined by closely monitoring global trends and adhering to market-oriented principles. The city will explore forward-looking policies for frontier areas like embodied AI model development, data collection, and applications. Initiatives such as "robot valleys," "robot districts," and an "embodied AI port" will continue, utilizing policies like "industrial upstairs" to provide customized, low-cost manufacturing spaces for robotics firms.
Finally, the plan prioritizes safety and ethical safeguards, increasing supervision over privacy, safety, and ethical risks associated with humanoid and service robots. The city will drive the creation of compliance guidelines for data collection, use, and circulation to protect data security and user rights. Support will also be given to third-party organizations offering safety certification and ethical assessment services for intelligent robots.