The Xuanzhi Technology team repaired machines during the second season of "Iron Armor". Photo courtesy of interviewee
Fighting robot "Deep Sea Shark". Photo courtesy of interviewee
In March this year, the first Greater Bay Area Digital Intelligence Competitive Fighting Robot Competition 2023 was held in Longgang District, Shenzhen, attracting more than 50 teams from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In the arena cabin, 1.5kg heavyweight fighting robots are engaged in fierce battles under the operation of the competitors. Sparks splashed inside the cabin, and the voices of people outside the cabin were loud.
One of the organizers of this competition is Xuanzhi (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd., a company located in Longgang Digital Creative Industry Corridor, focusing on digital intelligent sports robots. The core R&D members are all post-90s, and most of them come from state key laboratories such as the Institute of Robotics, the Institute of Satellites, and the Aerospace Laboratory of Harbin Institute of Technology. Despite only 6 years of establishment, the company has become a leader in the digital sports industry.
Why are these young people obsessed with developing "fighting" robots and organizing robots to "fight"? They believe that using robot "fighting" as a support point is conducive to breaking through some "stuck neck" problems. "We are committed to building a competitive robot ecosystem that integrates technology, education, competitions and entertainment, and our vision is to help China's manufacturing industry take off with digital intelligence." Cao Mengyu, CEO of Xuanzhi Technology, said.
Participate in competitions
After the "deep-sea giant shark" was eliminated, "hundreds of pages were written in the summary report alone"
In 2017, a domestic robot fighting variety show called "Ironclad Ambition" widely posted hero posts in colleges and universities across the country, and the original team of Xuanzhi Technology represented HIT to participate in this world heavyweight fighting robot competition dressed in variety shows.
At that time, Cao Mengyu, a senior in her senior year, was one of the core members of the team. He told reporters that although the four members of the team have experience in robot research and development, it is the first time to contact fighting robots, and they are facing the highest level in the fighting robot competition - 110kg competition. "Team founder Li Yunzhou watched a show imported from abroad called "Robot Ring" when he was a child, which is the only thing we know about robot fighting. And I haven't even heard of this show. Cao Mengyu said.
He admitted that as an academic, they think it is not difficult to make a "fight" robot in a short period of time and "fight" with other robots. "Yunzhou they are good at mechanics, we are good at electricity, and aren't these the two most important pieces of fighting robots?" Cao Mengyu recalled the scene at that time, a smile appeared on his face, and then the laughter was even louder. "As it turned out, we were quickly punched in the face."
They spent three months building a fighting robot called the Deep Sea Shark — but two weeks before the match, the Deep Sea Shark burned. Fortunately, the team changed the plan in time, "Even before the first game, our machine was not tested against each other. Cao Mengyu said, "However, the deep-sea giant shark is stronger than we thought." ”
The "Deep Sea Shark" was eventually eliminated by the old British team at 24 to 12. And this not a successful competition experience inspired the team's fighting spirit.
Cao Mengyu said that the team members went back to study it carefully, and wrote hundreds of pages just for the summary report. In later days, they looked for foreign books on fighting robots by referring to other mature designs, and continued to apply the results of their graduate research to the "deep-sea giant shark". In the end, the upgraded version of "Deep Sea Giant Shark" defeated many good players at home and abroad in the second season of "Ironclad Ambition" in 2019 to win the championship.
Industry growth
Evolution in real combat "Embark on a similar trajectory to esports"
After 2017, the domestic fighting robot variety show entered the blowout stage. In the past two or three years, several variety shows of the same type have been launched on different platforms in China. "The fighting robot variety show in those years, objectively speaking, still played a great role in promoting the scientific and technological sports of robot fighting." Wu Fan, COO of Xuanzhi Technology, said.
Cao Mengyu also said that when they participated in the second competition in 2019, they obviously felt that the strength of the top domestic teams was no longer inferior to the old foreign teams. "When I participated in the first competition in 2017, the gap was obvious, mainly reflected in the design of the machine and the operation of the players. In 2019, the top domestic teams have equaled their strength. Cao Mengyu believes that a big reason is that with the help of the fighting robot variety show, the domestic fighting robot competition has not been broken, and the strength of professional players has evolved rapidly in actual combat again and again.
However, this wave of variety show promotion has not changed the fact that robot fighting is still a niche scientific and technological sport. Nevertheless, Li Yunzhou, chairman of Xuanzhi Technology, said at the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Annual Meeting that when the focus is broken, there are more things to integrate and the core technology is better. Therefore, it is necessary to aim for a goal, clarify the direction, and strive to stick to the next step to succeed.
Obviously, fighting robots are the direction that Xuanzhi Technology focuses on.
For the future of fighting robots, Cao Mengyu compared it to esports - this is the consensus of the team members. Cao Mengyu said that e-sports was previously considered by most people to be just video games, and later e-sports as a sports event entered the Intercontinental Games, and the state promulgated professional standards for e-sports. Nowadays, many universities have opened e-sports majors, and more and more cities are also vigorously developing the e-sports industry. "Combat robots will follow a similar trajectory, from the initial small part of the movement, to the intercontinental games. Slowly, there will be more and more professional fighting robot clubs, more professional players, there will be event broadcasts, there will be commentary, there will be a lot of peripheral products and so on. Cao Mengyu said.
According to the team plan, in addition to holding some fighting robot cups this year, the most important thing is to hold the "12+1" BATTLEACE Competitive Robot Elite Professional League from May. "12 city races, plus one grand final. This will be our most important event of the year. Cao Mengyu said.
Settled in Shenzhen
"Climbing tank" robots transform scientific and technological achievements into commercial cooperation
When fighting robots first entered the public eye, there were discussions about who was more socially meaningful with esports. Cao Mengyu believes that fighting robots will drive the development of manufacturing industry just as F1 drives breakthroughs in core automotive technology.
"The scene of robot fighting is intense, and the requirements for motors, batteries, materials, energy, and systems are high. New technologies will continue to be highlighted in the competition, and they can be industrialized in the future. Cao Mengyu gave an example, "We developed a motion motor for lightweight fighting robots, which is very stable, and we have cooperated with related companies with this technology to make a magnetic wall-climbing robot." This robot can be used for the inspection of the wall of the oil storage tank. ”
In his opinion, by expanding the influence of fighting robots through large-scale competitions, attracting more people's attention and participating in fighting robot events, engineering talents can be fully discovered and cultivated in this process.
In June last year, the Opinions of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government on Developing and Expanding Strategic Emerging Industrial Clusters and Cultivating and Developing Future Industries (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions) and related supporting documents were released. The Opinions point out that Shenzhen will focus on the development of 20 strategic emerging industries, key subdivisions and 8 key development directions for future industries. It is not difficult to find that the semiconductor and integrated circuits, digital creativity, intelligent robots, new energy, new materials and other industries are inextricably linked with fighting robots.
Xuanzhi Technology "settled" in Shenzhen in 2020, focusing on Shenzhen's strong scientific and technological innovation strength and supply chain strength. "Our core suppliers are all in the Pearl River Delta, and the Shenzhen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition is the most direct opportunity." Cao Mengyu said, "We won the first place at that time and received relevant policy support. ”
At the end of 2022, Xuanzhi Technology chose to move the company to Longgang Digital Creative Industry Corridor. On March 28, 2023, Longgang Digital Creative Industry Corridor was awarded the "National Cultural Industry Demonstration Park", becoming the only park in Shenzhen to receive this title. Cao Mengyu believes that locating the headquarters in Longgang District is another key choice in the company's development process. He said, "In the Longgang digital creative industry corridor, there are many upstream and downstream enterprises that can cooperate and have a strong correspondence in the industry. Of course, the Longgang District Government has also given great support. ”
It is worth noting that during the first Greater Bay Area Digital Intelligence Competition Fighting Robot Competition in 2023, the Digital Intelligence Competition Innovation Center under Xuanzhi Technology also settled in Longgang Digital Creative Industry Corridor Tianjian Yuntu Digital Construction· BIM Design Industrial Park. It is foreseeable that the Digital Intelligence Sports Innovation Center will rely on the supporting force of Longgang Digital Innovation Corridor Industry, a national-level cultural industry demonstration park, to promote Longgang to the Greater Bay Area and even the whole country, and jointly build a top digital and intelligent sports industry highland in China.
Written by: Nandu reporter Yan Peng, Chen Haohui, Leng Feng