Last year, the revenue of industrial enterprises above the designated size in Anhui Province reached 5.5 trillion yuan, rising from the 12th place nationwide in 2020 to the 6th place. The high-quality development index for the manufacturing sector ranked 6th in the country, with the structural optimization index climbing to the 2nd place. Emerging industrial clusters, such as new energy vehicles, integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, and robotics, have rapidly expanded. The output value of strategic emerging industries accounted for a proportion of the total industrial output value that ranks 3rd nationally. 

These remarkable achievements are truly inspiring. Looking ahead, then, in which directions should manufacturing prioritize its efforts? 

Advancement toward high-end, intelligent, and green development represents both the essential requirements and strategic direction for cultivating advanced manufacturing industry clusters. Pursuing high-end requires innovation-driven growth rooted in quality excellence and centered on enterprises—propelling manufacturing toward mid-to-high segments of global supply chains. Embracing intelligence means prioritizing smart manufacturing as the main focus, leveraging AI to empower novel industrialization and drive technological breakthrough alongside industrial upgrading. Achieving green transformation encompasses both eco-friendly industries and industrializing environmental solutions—with renewable energy serving as the strategic support to propel manufacturing's sustainable evolution.

Breakthroughs and widespread adoption of next-generation smart manufacturing technologies and clean energy will unleash a new wave of industrial revolution. This will fundamentally reshape manufacturing's technological frameworks, production paradigms, and industrial ecosystems.  

The starting point and ultimate goal of smart manufacturing are both to achieve high-quality development in the manufacturing sector. Its fundamental mission is to drive digital transformation and intelligent upgrading across manufacturing. As an evolving mega-concept, smart manufacturing has progressed through two generations—digital manufacturing and digitally networked manufacturing—and is now entering its third phase: a new era defined by deep integration between artificial intelligence (AI) and production systems. This represents the current highest paradigm of smart manufacturing. 

Today, AI advancement accelerates at breakneck speed. Continuous innovation and application of key technologies like cloud computing, big data analytics, and deep learning have propelled AI into a new stage characterized by large models powering generalized artificial intelligence. Cutting-edge disruptive technologies emerge continuously, evolving rapidly through iterations. A consensus among experts holds that next-gen AI will spearhead industrial revolution, profoundly empower diverse industries, and serve as a critical engine driving transformative change. Fundamental shifts will occur in manufacturing methodologies, business models, and corporate structures. 

Advanced manufacturing demands premium quality, intelligence, and sustainability. Embodied AI—an avant-garde direction in AI evolution—offers entirely novel pathways for leapfrogging toward intelligent manufacturing systems. 

Experts indicate that embodied AI represents a new paradigm emerging at an advanced stage of artificial intelligence development. As a cutting-edge intersection between AI and robotics undergoing forward-looking strategic deployment, it is gradually evolving into a critical technological foundation supporting high-level smart manufacturing advancement. This innovation endows machine systems with closed-loop capabilities for perception, decision-making, and execution—propelling intelligent manufacturing toward greater autonomy and sophistication.  

At this year's World Manufacturing Convention, our province's embodied AI industry has drawn considerable attention.

Across the province, there are currently 13 R&D teams from universities and research institutes focused on humanoid robotics, alongside approximately 40 enterprises in the industrial chain that have already produced 8 complete robotic systems. Among these entities include 10 organizations specializing in chassis R&D/manufacturing (including academic institutions) and 30 companies developing "brain/control systems" and key components. 

Source: Anhui Daily