A Robotic Boom.docVIP

A Robotic Boom 　　China’s importance in the global robotics industry is increasing， with more companies moving to develop industrial and service robots， along with artificial intelligence. Even some property tycoons are getting on board and investing in the fastgrowing sector. 　　China Vanke， the country’s largest property developer by sales， is cooperating with worldrenowned research centers to develop robots to do everything from sweep floors and guard its properties to address labor shortage and rising wages. 　　As Chinese property developers struggle with lackluster sales and tighter industry margins， Vanke， like many others， is looking toward premium concierge services to attract customers. The future of the industry， the company said， might be staffed with robots to provide services to their clients. 　　“We estimate that with today’s growth and the changes in China’s labor supply， at least 30 percent of our jobs will be replaced by robots，”Vanke’s Chairman Wang Shi said. 　　Indeed， eight robot chefs already work in the restaurants serving Vanke’s developments， Wang said in August， and the company plans to open a hotel entirely managed by robots in the southern city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province in 2017， he added. 　　China has recently progressed in developing its robotic technologies， ranking as the top industrial robot market worldwide for two consecutive years. The country also accounts for one quarter of global robotic sales， according to a report announced by China Robot Industry Alliance in 2014. 　　Liu Jinchang， a research fellow at the HiTech Research Development Center under the Ministry of Science and Technology， attributes the boom to government policies and investments from various sources. 　　Anthony Neal-Graves， Vice President of the Internet of Things Group at Intel Corp.， expects the market for robots to increase 20 percent annually worldwide， while the Asia-Pacific region is estimated to grow 25 percent annually. The bulk of the increas