ABB's robotics business entered the Chinese market in 1994 and pioneered applications in the automotive field, including participation in the construction of China's first automotive stamping automation line and the first diesel flexible automation line. In the past decade, with the accelerated transformation of society to electric transportation, the demand for robot automation in upstream and downstream industries such as electric vehicles and battery manufacturing is also increasing.
On May 22, Han Chen, president of ABB Robotics Business in China, and Nick de Vries, champion driver of ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (FE) season 7, came to Zhejiang University to talk about ABB digital and AI technology application, and discuss international top motor sports, talent training and career development with teachers and students of the School of Control Science and Engineering.
ABB's robotics business entered the Chinese market in 1994 and pioneered applications in the automotive field, including participation in the construction of China's first automotive stamping automation line and the first diesel flexible automation line. In the past decade, with the accelerated transformation of society to electric transportation, the demand for robot automation in upstream and downstream industries such as electric vehicles and battery manufacturing is also increasing.
FE is a testing ground for the world's most advanced electric mobility technology, which is why ABB chose to partner with FE and apply leading technologies such as fast charging and energy management to the event. At present, the domestic electric vehicle industry is advancing by leaps and bounds, and we need to keep pace with The Times and actively embrace new opportunities. Hope to work with more young talents to complete this great cause.
The FE is a largely software-driven championship with many groundbreaking electric mobility technologies, from energy management and traction system control to efficient kinetic energy recovery, and while many of these technologies will not be immediately applied to our everyday end consumption, what we do will make the future even better.
As an engineering graduate who has just experienced the first decade of my career, I have learned a lot from the two guests today, you should dare to step out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself, and create a wonderful life.
When it comes to future technology trends, Han Chen said that the application of artificial intelligence and large models will take robot autonomy to a new level. Many interesting and novel ideas were displayed in the school lab, such as folding clothes and voice conversations.
As a global technology leader, ABB is deeply combining artificial intelligence and robotics to help customers in various industries create greater value with a new generation of intelligent robot solutions with a higher level of autonomy.
ABB uses natural language instructions to teach robots to perform operations such as picking and placing, which greatly improves the ease of use of robots and provides users with a more convenient and rapid debugging experience.
How ABB is applying 3D Visual Synchronous Positioning and Map Building (VSLAM) technology to autonomous mobile robots, enabling them to sense their surroundings in real time and make intelligent navigation decisions, transforming traditional linear production lines into more flexible production models.
The guest who attended the session with Han Chen was Nick de Vries, a Dutch driver from the FE Mahindra team - he has competed in F1 and FE and many other top motor sports, and won the seventh season of the FE drivers' championship. In this activity, as ABB FE promotion Ambassador, he had a face-to-face communication with the students, introducing the differences between F1, WEC and FE motor sports, as well as the innovative technology and software applied in FE competitions.
Facing the students who are confused about entering school and choosing a career, Nick shared his driving experience and how to overcome challenges, and encouraged them to dare to pursue their dreams and continue to work hard to achieve their life goals. Enthusiastic fans lingered long after the event, taking pictures with Nick and asking him to sign race memorabilia or notebooks.
The FE is one of the most compact and competitive events in motorsport, held in the heart of the world's iconic cities with unpredictable and exciting results. ABB has been the title sponsor of the international event since 2018, using this important platform to further drive technological innovation and enable a more sustainable future. This weekend (May 25-26), FE will return to China to bring excitement and speed to the crowd at the Shanghai International Circuit.
At this event, technical experts from several ABB business units introduced the three tracks of the 2024 ABB Cup Smart Technology Innovation Competition, and invited students to actively participate in the competition, exercise innovation spirit and improve practical ability in the process of solving specific industrial problems, and gain points for future career development:
Participants are invited to propose and implement innovative designs for the integration of robots and mobile devices, such as enabling robots with sensors, touch screens and interconnection communication capabilities of mobile devices, exploring the application potential of robots, or solving engineering problems in robot applications such as robot calibration, human-computer interaction, perception diagnosis, trajectory planning and generation;
Participants are required to solve problems such as signal processing, feature extraction and image recognition based on data from motor applications provided by ABB, build a monitoring model of ABB motor rotating strip breakage based on fault mechanism and machine learning/deep learning technology, and give results based on validation set data;
Players are required to use AI intelligent algorithm for image processing under Linux environment, divide the given image into several blocks of different colors and specifications, and plan the optimal path for building blocks handling, and finally realize the logic and motion control of the executive mechanism based on B&R Automation Studio software, and assemble the blocks into the given picture.
As a technology leader for more than 140 years, ABB has always regarded innovation and people as the cornerstones of its strong competitiveness. At present, ABB has more than 7,000 research and development personnel worldwide and will invest $1.3 billion in research and development in 2023. The Innovation competition and the close cooperation with FE is a concrete practice of ABB's commitment to fostering innovative talent and driving a sustainable future through technological innovation.
