Only two years to develop a humanoid robot machine products, in the domestic "only two" through the collaborative robot Germany TÜV functional safety certification, to become the mother fund of strategic emerging industries in Jiangsu Province, the first batch of industry-specific funds the first direct investment projects ...... in Jiangsu robotics In Jiangsu robotics industry cluster, a "new star" to win the attention of the industry and society.
On October 31, the reporter went into Nanjing Exton Kujo Technology Co., Ltd (abbreviation: Exton Kujo), and the company's CEO, Dr. Li Yuanping, CTO Dr. Zang Jiawei in-depth dialogue, to explore the body of this emerging enterprise in the field of intelligent robotics, to find the right direction on the new track, the mystery of rapid growth.
Seize the "wind mouth" of body intelligence with industrial advantages
Jiangning District, Nanjing City, Jiyin Avenue, Exton Robotics Industrial Park, Exton Kujo and Nanjing Exton Automation Co.
In 2022, Exton, a leading company in the field of industrial robots, captured the "new wind mouth" of human-robot collaboration and embodied intelligence, incubated Exton Kudrow, and gave it the mission of focusing on the research and development of embodied intelligent robots.
Zang Jiawei recalled that at first they researched many directions, some people proposed to do family service robots, after all, at that time the topic of humanoid robots into the family is very hot. However, the demand for family scenes is too decentralized, sweeping the floor today and cooking tomorrow, making it difficult for the technology to land. The team is best at the industrial field, and the traditional industrial robots have encountered industrial pain points.
Originally, when Zang Jiawei was the director of Exton Future Technology Institute in 2021, he heard some voices from the industrial frontline. "At that time, a shipbuilding enterprise said that when they welded the hull of the medium-thick plate, the work stations are scattered and narrow space, the traditional industrial robots are large and heavy, and can't be 'mobile operation' like workers, and they can only rely on the manual holding the torch a little bit of welding."
Exton's customer resources and channel network accumulated over the years, as well as its deep understanding of industrial processes such as welding and assembly, are the core strengths of the emerging entrepreneurial team.
The team thought, in the end, what kind of robot can be adapted to the dynamically changing industrial scene? Opportunities emerge in front of us, for example, in automobile manufacturing, engine screw assembly requires extremely high precision, a little difference may affect the performance, traditional robots do not have force sensing feedback, it is easy to go wrong, this is the opportunity in front of the entrepreneurs.
More crucially, the industrial robotics market volume is sufficient to support the growth of the enterprise. Zang Jiawei said, "In 2022, we received our first order through the channel - to provide collaborative robots for a new energy vehicle company for the handling of battery pack parts."
Today, the company's products into automobile manufacturing, 3C, new energy, photovoltaic, lithium-ion and many other industries, last year's revenue of 10 million yuan, this year can reach the target of 50 million yuan, next year is expected to break through 100 million yuan.
Speed up R&D with "technology reuse" capability
Walking into the production workshop of Exton Kudrow, the reporter saw an S-Eco series collaborative robot flexibly grasping automobile parts and then accurately placing them into the designated workstation; not far away, the S-Pro series collaborative robot was carrying out precise screw assembly, with real-time feedback of strength from the torque sensor to ensure that the tightening degree of each screw was in line with the standard.
These two collaborative robots belong to the single-arm robot, arm strength and dexterity, with intelligent decision-making ability, is the company's current shipments of the largest products. Zang Jiawei introduced, collaborative robots and humanoid robots in the hardware and cerebellar control technology is common, such as motor control, motion planning algorithms.
The accumulation of technology in the development of collaborative robots has laid the foundation for the company to enter the field of humanoid robots, but difficulties are inevitable. "The company started from a single-arm collaborative robot, to the research and development of mobile composite robots with hands, feet, eyes and brain sensory control in one, which is a very difficult road of technical climbing." Zang Jiawei said that the full-size design of the humanoid robot from the head to the hands, arms, legs, waist and ankles all have to start all over again, with significant optimization on the hardware structure and software architecture, as well as to achieve weight reduction and cost reduction at the same time. "Embodied intelligence will be the core battlefield for the next generation of robots, and humanoid robots are the ideal vehicle for it." Zang Jiawei said bluntly.
On the new track, the company has been running furiously, and completed the development of the entire humanoid robot in more than two years after its establishment, which is significantly faster than the industry's R&D time of three to five years. Since then, the company has spent nine months to complete the technology iteration - September 2024, June 2025 has released two generations of humanoid robot products.
On the technical route, the company focuses on the development of small models for vertical scenarios with the help of the generalization ability of third-party large models. "For example, in the welding scenario, we collect welding data of workpieces of different materials and thicknesses, train specialized models, and allow the robot to adjust the welding parameters according to the actual situation to improve the quality of welding. There is a steel structure enterprise, their workpiece thickness varies without standards, the traditional robot needs to adjust the program frequently, while our robot can automatically identify the workpiece thickness and match the welding parameters through the small model training, the efficiency is improved by more than 30%."
Functional safety certification is another core barrier that this emerging company is focusing on building. Collaborative robots need to interact with people in close proximity, and safety is a top priority. "Once, we do on-site testing in an auto parts company, a worker accidentally touched the robot's arm, the robot stopped instantly, without causing any harm to the worker. This is the emergency stop collision detection function at work. In addition to this, our products also have functions such as end force output limitation, speed and separation monitoring, which are the core requirements for functional safety certification." Zang Jiawei proudly said, "At present, there are only two companies in China to get the collaborative robot Germany TÜV functional safety certification. It is not easy to get this certification, from hardware design to software algorithms, every detail must comply with international standards. This certification has also become an important weight to win the trust of our customers."
Special funds to promote team capacity "double expansion"
In November 2024, the company ushered in an important development opportunity - receiving 100 million yuan of investment from the second phase of the National Advanced Manufacturing Industry Fund and 30 million yuan of investment from the Jiangsu Provincial Strategic Fund. "This is thanks to the relevant departments' comprehensive recognition of our company's R&D strength and development strategy, which is optimistic about our future development." Li Yuanping, CEO of the company, exclaimed.
After the funds arrived, the first thing they did was to expand their team from more than 80 people to 160 people, of which the R&D team expanded from more than 30 people to more than 60 people, including a group of talented people with rich experience in the field of AI algorithms and robot control.
The investment has supported the growth of R&D investment. "This year our R&D investment budget reached 30-40 million yuan, up 50% from last year, mainly for new technology development and product iteration. For example, the single-arm 20kg humanoid robot, which is expected to be launched by the end of the year; and the control system iteration, with an important update completed in the third quarter of this year, and the robot's responsiveness is now 15% faster than before," said Li Yuanping, adding that the funds were also used for capacity expansion. We built a new production line and now have significantly more capacity and faster delivery."
He also highlighted that Jiangsu's good industrial ecology is very supportive of startups, such as the industry exchanges organized by the Nanjing Robotics Industry Tackling Office, which create opportunities for upstream and downstream industry chain partners to dock.
The rapid growth of Exton Kudrow is a microcosm of the development of the humanoid robot industry in Jiangsu. In recent years, Jiangsu focuses on this future industry, enhances policy support, and promotes the improvement of the industrial chain and industrial agglomeration. In the whole machine, key components, brain, cerebellum, etc., Jiangsu has the industry's leading enterprises, forming a more complete humanoid robot industry chain.
Recently released "the CPC Central Committee on the formulation of the fifteenth five-year plan for national economic and social development" put forward, forward-looking layout of future industries, including the promotion of physical intelligence, including the field of new economic growth points. This not only gives a family of "Exton Kudos" pointed out the direction, but also will bring them new benefits and opportunities.
Zang Jiawei said, "We will continue to plough into the industrial scene, make the technology solid, make the products reliable, and contribute to the development of the robotics industry in Jiangsu. The company's goal is to become a single champion in the industrial field with body intelligence."
For innovative entrepreneurs, he combined with personal insights to give advice: "First of all, we must find the right track, do not blindly chase hotspots, to be rooted in their own familiar fields, to solve the real industrial pain points; secondly, we must pay attention to the accumulation of technology, the core technology must be grasped in their own hands; and finally, we must learn to leverage the power of the ecosystem, capital, supply chain, channels are very important, but can not be overly dependent. dependence, but also to cultivate independent capabilities."
