Robots enhance services, efficiency during Spring Festival holiday in China

Various kinds of robots played pivotal roles in supporting tasks and services across China during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday that concluded on Feb. 17.

Robots have been gradually introduced to help manage the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, which began on Jan. 26 and will last until March 5.

Robots dance to extend Chinese New Year greetings at the Wisdom Bay Science and Technology Innovation Park in Baoshan district, Shanghai, Feb. 12, 2024. (Photo/Chen Yuyu)

Some stations along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway have deployed intelligent service robots for guiding passengers, answering inquiries, and carrying heavy luggage.

These intelligent service robots feature a closed storage box with a maximum capacity of 100 kilograms. After passengers place bulky items in the storage box, they can scan a code or use facial recognition to have the robot follow them. Additionally, the robot can guide passengers to check-in points.

Meanwhile, two patrol robots have been stationed at Guangzhou South Railway Station in Guangzhou, in south China's Guangdong Province, to ensure security during the Spring Festival travel rush.

In an emergency, passengers can press a button on the patrol robot, which is equipped with a camera, to connect remotely with a police officer for real-time communication.

An autonomous robot cleans a street in Yiwu city, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 2, 2024. (Photo/Gong Xianming)

At the Lubu toll plaza along the Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway in east China's Zhejiang Province, robot lane changers have been tasked with creating reversible lanes to regulate vehicle traffic. These autonomous robots, equipped with solar cells for electricity generation, move independently. It takes them only two minutes to set up a reversible lane, thereby improving traffic efficiency at the toll plaza.

Mobile charging robots have been introduced at service areas of some expressways, including the Xiangpu Service Area of the Hefei-Anqing Expressway in east China's Anhui Province. Electric vehicle (EV) owners can use an app or mini-program to order a charging robot to locate and recharge their vehicles.

Robots have also been employed in domestic service. Cleaning houses is a custom to welcome the Chinese New Year, but cleaning windows is very inconvenient and time-consuming for people living in high-rise buildings. Window cleaning robots have been made available at stores of Beijing Homelink Real Estate Brokerage Co. Ltd. for residents to reserve for free use. The company has also sent volunteers to provide free window cleaning services for empty nesters.

During the Spring Festival holiday, domestic service robots reached households far and wide. Data from Chinese retail giant Suning showed that sales of robot vacuums and mops, window cleaning robots, and other home-cleaning appliances surged more than 221 percent during the holiday compared to a month earlier.

Maintenance personnel from the Bozhou branch of State Grid Anhui Electric Power Company, alongside a 5G-powered robot, inspect power supply equipment in Bozhou, east China's Anhui Province, Feb. 2, 2024. (Photo/Liang Xihai)

At a parallel venue for the Spring Festival gala in Shenyang, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, eight robots manufactured by Shenyang-based Siasun Robot and Automation Co., Ltd. were programmed to dance to music, captivating the audience with a mesmerizing display of lights.

Several courier firms deployed sorting robots and delivery robots to ensure logistics services during the Spring Festival holiday. These included JD Logistics, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com; Cainiao, the logistics arm of China's e-commerce titan Alibaba Group; and China's leading courier company, SF Express.

For instance, a total of 880 intelligent sorting robots were operational at full capacity to sort and distribute parcels to ensure timely delivery during the holiday in a smart logistics park in Huzhou city, Zhejiang Province.

Meanwhile, smart inspection robots have been deployed across China. The Zibo branch of State Grid Shandong Electric Power Company in east China's Shandong Province introduced inspection robots as part of efforts to ensure a reliable power supply during the Spring Festival.

Visitors watch a robot dancing at the Science and Technology Museum in Zaozhuang, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 16, 2024. (Photo/Sun Zhongzhe)

"The inspection robot can continuously patrol and monitor the operation status of equipment," said Lyu Dongfei, deputy director of the operation and inspection department at the Zibo branch. It transmits monitoring data, such as equipment temperature, current, and voltage, to the backend server in real time. This allows staff on duty to accurately understand the condition of the equipment. When irregular data is detected, the robot can also automatically trigger alarms to notify power maintenance personnel to promptly address any issues.

Eight robots have been deployed to automatically inspect the undersides of bullet trains during the Spring Festival travel rush at the Hongqiao High-Speed Train Maintenance Center in Shanghai. They can significantly improve the efficiency and safety of high-speed train maintenance.

In addition, robots were active on the production lines of some companies and played a crucial role at various construction sites during the holiday.