With the improvement of logistics technology, the demand for mobile robots in the manufacturing industry is becoming more and more urgent. Today in mobile robots are mainly used in the automotive industry, 3C electronics, chip manufacturing, tobacco industry, logistics packaging and other industries, the more significant use in actual production is handling. They can be divided into sorting mobile robots, forklift mobile robots, goods transfer mobile robots, traction mobile robots, submerged mobile robots and many other types according to the form of operation. Mobile robots have unique advantages in terms of automation, flexibility and safety, making them a better choice for intelligent and automated logistics.

With the rapid development of the industry in recent years, more and more companies have entered the field of mobile robots, including new companies that have entered the market with AMR, such as Jia Zhi Technology, You Ai Zhihe, etc., and companies that have entered the "new track" from the traditional AGV and warehouse robot field, such as Ji Zhi Jia, Xin Song Robot, etc.

I. Current development of the mobile robotics industry

Mobile robot is one of the important components of China's industrial robot industry, data show that in 2019, China's mobile robot production reached 29,559 units, an increase of 15.05% year-on-year, accounting for 15.81% of the total industrial robot production. Mobile robot products mainly consist of manufacturing and warehousing mobile robots, service mobile robots, and special application mobile robots.In 2019, manufacturing and warehousing mobile robots accounted for more production, up to 74%, while service mobile robots and special application mobile robots accounted for 14% and 12%, respectively.

With the development of China's e-commerce logistics industry in recent years, the demand for mobile robots has grown significantly. Data show that from 2011 to 2019, China's mobile robot market size from 200 million yuan to 6.175 billion yuan, although the growth rate has been reduced, but the application of mobile robots will continue to penetrate all walks of life, its market size will still maintain a faster development trend.

2、Outdoor mobile robotics, "big data" technology mature

Previously, mobile robots were mainly used in indoor environments, such as intelligent warehouses and factory floors. Outdoor applications, such as the "last mile" of express delivery and port cargo handling, were not yet available. However, with the maturation of outdoor mobile robot technology, mobile robots can be used in purely outdoor or semi-outdoor applications, which brings a whole new revolution to the logistics industry. With intelligent transport through mobile robots, efficiency will be greatly enhanced.

In addition to the maturity of outdoor mobile robot technology, the application of artificial intelligence technology to mobile robots will also further improve efficiency. Through the medium of the internet, production management systems can collect and aggregate data on the operation of robots to obtain 'big data'. By analysing this data, the robot's crop rate, production information and failure information can be analysed, so that production methods can be intelligently adjusted to the actual situation in real time, thus further improving productivity.

3、Mobile robotics industry chain layout is becoming complete

The upstream of mobile robots are robot component manufacturers. Core components such as drive controllers, systems, and agonistic navigation sensors are the core of the industry chain and account for the majority of costs in robot products. Midstream are robot manufacturing and systems integration companies. The downstream includes automotive, 3C electronics, logistics and other application industries. The domestic mobile robot market currently has a high localisation rate of over 80%.

Upstream: The process of localization is advancing, gradually getting rid of the dependence on foreign imported technology

Mobile robots are mainly composed of three parts: drive, system and guidance, of which, in the drive controller, system, and excited navigation sensors and other core components, the localization process continues to advance.In 1996, Kollmorgen NDC, which started with the underlying algorithm, brought the laser navigation AGV to the Chinese market, and since then ** the development of AGV in the Chinese market. For quite a long time, the mobile robot sensor market in China was occupied by foreign brands such as Kollmorgen, SICK, Koyo and Efma. In recent years, most companies in the Chinese market have started to focus on the development of component technologies for mobile robots, and for a while foreign brands have had challengers in the Chinese market. For example, for the core components of laser SLAM mobile robots, Thor Intelligence has emerged. For controllers and dispatching systems, Xian Gong and BITO Robotics have emerged.