Recently, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and JAKA Robotics Co., Ltd. signed an agreement to jointly establish a Joint Research Center for General-Purpose Intelligent Robots (hereinafter referred to as the "Joint Research Center"), focusing on breakthroughs in core technologies and industrial applications of general-purpose intelligent robots, and deepening collaborative innovation between industry, academia, and research institutions. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, as a top-tier institution of higher learning in China, possesses a strong foundation in interdisciplinary research and has accumulated extensive expertise in areas such as fundamental theories of robotics and the development of core components. JAKA Robotics, a leading global provider of general-purpose intelligent robots, has products covering more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, and its solutions are widely applied in the automotive, electronics, new energy, precision manufacturing, and commercial services sectors, accumulating rich experience in industrial applications.
On January 15, 2026, the FORVIA Yancheng Seating Plant officially received the title of "Outstanding Performance Lighthouse Factory in the Productivity Field" from the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Lighthouse Network, becoming FORVIA's first lighthouse factory globally. This milestone breakthrough signifies that FORVIA's leading capabilities in intelligent manufacturing transformation have once again received global authoritative recognition. The "Global Lighthouse Network" is an initiative launched by the World Economic Forum to recognize operational sites and value chains that demonstrate excellence in productivity, supply chain resilience, customer-centricity, sustainability, and talent development. This initiative, jointly launched by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company, and guided by an advisory board of industry leaders, is dedicated to shaping the future of global manufacturing. Among its distinctions, "Outstanding Performance in Productivity" is a key honor, recognizing leading factories that have achieved exceptional results in cost and quality through technology-driven transformation, significantly improving asset utilization, employee empowerment, and resource management.
Under the pressure of fierce international competition and industrial upgrading, industrial enterprises are accelerating their transformation to a new generation of automation that is more flexible and intelligent. The deep integration of artificial intelligence and robotics is creating new productivity changes in the fields of mechanical, electrical and process engineering. At the just-opened 2026 CES International Consumer Electronics Show, Boston Dynamics officially released the product version of the Atlas humanoid robot and announced that it would start production immediately. This move marks the official entry of enterprise-level humanoid robots into the industrialization stage. As Boston Dynamics' first enterprise-level product for the industrial field, the new Atlas is positioned as a highly flexible and intelligent universal automation platform, aiming to promote the intelligent upgrading of the manufacturing industry.
In a professional award competition in the field of robotics at the end of 2025, Welling Robot Components, a subsidiary of Midea Group's Industrial Technology Division, once again won the top prize with its technical advantages: High-tech Robot Golden Globe Award·Annual Technology Award. Relying on Midea Group and Welling Motor's more than 30 years of electromechanical technology, precision manufacturing experience, market and even organizational accumulation, Welling Robot Components has been deeply engaged in R&D and manufacturing since the establishment of the precision reducer project in 2019. With "forward design" as the guide, it has completed the transformation from "following" to "running alongside" and has become a leading enterprise in the field of high-end equipment manufacturing that is independently controllable and domestically substituted. Among them, with its clear-cut forward design concept, Welling Robot Components has promoted breakthroughs in the research and development of high-performance precision reducers (including harmonic reducers, RV reducers), servo motors, joint modules and other core components, raising its product strength to the forefront of the industry.
