Stander Robot Breakthrough

It was night. In a well-known auto parts workshop, several Steady Oasis handling robots were transporting materials through the MES system and the AGV dispatching system to achieve fully automatic logistics between warehouses and machines.

In recent years, due to the reduction of skilled workers in the factory, the low yield and low production efficiency have become increasingly serious problems. The factory has decided to start automation and information transformation. This is just one of several application projects promoted by Stander Robotics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Standard") this year.

From 0 to 1, from 1 to N

Unlike many college students' entrepreneurial teams, Wang Yongkun told "CEConline" that the five founders of Stander are all technical experts , This group of entrepreneurial guys who graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Birmingham and other colleges and universities are active in the product line of industrial-grade mobile robots. They have a common ideal: use technological innovation to empower intelligent manufacturing.

From 0 to 1, from 1 to N since 2014. With its core advantages in mobile robot core controllers, positioning and navigation algorithms, key sensors, standardized complete machines and scheduling systems, Stander Robots has made steady progress in technology research and development.

With the accelerated development of intelligent manufacturing, industrial automation and logistics automation, the mobile robot industry has also ushered in an explosion in recent years. The data shows that as of 2018, the Chinese market has added 29,600 mobile robots, a 35.22% increase over 2017, and the new mobile robot market sales reached 4.25 billion yuan, a 49% increase over 2017. It is expected that in the future The scale of China's mobile robot market will reach 14 billion yuan in five years, and the industry development prospect is huge.

As a supplier of intelligent and flexible industrial logistics solutions, STANDER is mainly deployed in the frontier industries of intelligent manufacturing such as 3C and auto parts. "Be the leader of China's 3C logistics industry," said Wang Yongkun, CEO of Stand Robotics.

Standard has been exploring commercialization for the first two years of its existence. At that time, Stander seemed to be in the fog, looking for the direction of the technology landing. Wang Yongkun recalled: "In the early days, it was the supply of core components, and then it transitioned to providing complete machines, and then to a supplier of intelligent and flexible industrial logistics solutions. This exploration process took more than two years. The core controller has become a standard in the industry. The technical barriers established within the company, mastering the core controller research and development technology, and then going downstream to do hardware integration and complete machine production, the advantages are obvious."

The 3C production process changes rapidly, and enterprises have demand for automation transformation Strong, more requirements for industrial logistics, there is a large market space.

How to quickly respond to the needs of small batches, multiple varieties, short cycles and multiple batches? The answer is intelligent and flexible logistics robots. By using advanced sensors and artificial intelligence to make decision-making flexibility, Stander's AGV application solution mainly adopts SLAM lidar navigation, so that AGV can flexibly and automatically collect information and generate accurate environmental maps. The positioning accuracy is centimeter level, and supports detouring obstacles. Let the information really flow in the factory, generate value, and break the information island between production lines to improve the accuracy of production and manufacturing.

In 2018, Stander Robotics has received orders for hundreds of units, of which inspection robots and knapsack industrial robots have achieved considerable sales and achieved profitability in June of that year.

Things decide the way out

For Stander Robots, the real milestone is the transformation of Wang Yongkun's entrepreneurial thinking in 2018. In response to market demand, Wang Yongkun realized that it was crucial to have one or two strong products.

It takes a lot of time and energy to polish a product that is suitable for the market. Since 2016, Stander has made several product adjustments and finally decided to focus on two robot products. In August 2018, Stander released new robots Oasis300 and Oasis600. Compared with Oasis200, these two load-type robots have better carrying performance, stronger ability to adapt to the environment, and faster scene learning ability.

In January 2018, Stander cut multiple product lines, ultimately leaving only one. Learning to do subtraction is a winning skill summed up by Wang Yongkun's many years of entrepreneurial experience. This drastic decision was not made on a whim. "A series of problems brought about by blind expansion in the early days made me realize that starting a business should not only be considered from the perspective of technology, but also from the perspective of operation." Wang Yongkun is an engineer and a manager.

"The service requirements of industrial robots are much higher than those of consumer robots. It does not mean that you sell the product and you are done. From product polishing to project delivery, including production, quality, testing, sales and after-sales service, this long-term It is not easy to control each link accurately," said Wang Yongkun.

As a start-up company, its size is limited, so how to make good use of the limited resources at hand has become Wang Yongkun's primary concern. One is to reduce the marginal cost of the company and make good use of the existing technical reserves. For long-term development, high-input, high-cost R&D companies must pursue diminishing marginal costs. The second is to focus, to concentrate firepower to come up with a useful product at the fastest speed in the short term. It is best to use more than 50% of the technical accumulation of the previous product for the next product.

It is said that starting a business is a life-and-death experience, and only if you survive can you qualify for competition. After the company's performance went through ups and downs, the product line was quickly cut off, and at the same time, it began to streamline personnel, striving to eliminate the disadvantages of the previous bloated organization. In this process, Wang Yongkun's thinking gradually shifted from technology research and development to business management. "Looking back at the rhythm of starting a business at that time, the biggest feeling is that the road is too wide, and there is a feeling that all five fingers are open, but at that time, what is needed is to tighten the fist." For entrepreneurship, time It is the most precious. Nothing is more valuable than time. Only by polishing the most suitable products for market needs at the most appropriate time can they be recognized by users. This is a change in thinking, and it is also Wang Yongkun's art of war.

The industrial robot industry is highly qualified and has high barriers to entry. All players competing for similar solutions face the same time window—whoever can take the lead and accumulate seed customer cases will be able to ride the dust , throws the slow person further away.

Evolution is more important than competition

Management is to decide what to do and do the right thing; management is to do the decided thing well and do the right thing.

From college students to entrepreneurs, from technical experts to CEOs, the Stander team has been growing and evolving itself. 2018 is a very pivotal year, this year, Stander Robotics has reached a new level. Wang Yongkun said that he likes two words the most: one is iteration and the other is evolution. Both words mean growth, upgrade.

In addition to the upgrade of personal cognition and management capabilities, STANDER robots are also undergoing rapid evolution and iteration. This process is achieved through scenario-based learning.

In the Stander factory in Baoan, Shenzhen, the first thing you see is the open R&D test site. R&D personnel are busy installing and testing machines. Material loading and unloading is very much like the workshop of a flexible smart factory.

In order to meet the customized needs of different industrial customers, STANDER's robots have to undergo multiple tests and improvements. White box testing is considered from the design side, and black box testing solves the needs in the R&D workshop. However, the implementation of new technologies will inevitably experience a running-in period with the actual scene in the initial stage. The complex physical environment of the workshop, such as dust, temperature, humidity, voltage, electromagnetic interference, etc., will affect the stability of the product and increase the difficulty of application.

There is a customer in the auto parts industry that has very high requirements: multiple AGVs are required to work together, and ordinary solutions cannot meet them. A custom upgrade is required. "It's a very difficult thing. In this process, customers are ravaged in every way, and they are constantly improving, iterating, and evolving," Wang Yongkun said. "It feels quite painful."

Large manufacturing companies have a Common ground: Emphasis on practicality, reflected in the solution is whether it has accuracy, stability and reliability.

So far, STANDER's engineers have been stationed in the factory all the year round. It is necessary to innovate at the first scene, not for innovation's sake. It is meaningless to work behind closed doors. "Decompose the problem, understand the requirements, and then solve the problem with the simplest and most reliable method." Wang Yongkun has his own unique understanding of innovation.

Becoming a giant is the best choice to compete with giants

Opportunities are accompanied by challenges. What the market lacks the most is products that are really easy to use, and compete with each other in terms of innovation ability and technological independence. become the current theme. "The market competition is not as fierce as imagined, but self-iteration is more important." Wang Yongkun said that the market is by no means scrambled, but depends on professional services.

In the field of industrial robots, one side is the traditional giant players, and more are the emerging startups. Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, and new high-tech companies are not afraid to compete with established players. Compared with traditional giant companies, Stand is more similar to a comparison of the size of startups on the driverless track and traditional car manufacturers. However, as a startup company, small size can also be an advantage. First, it can be more flexible to make high-end products, and second, it can achieve the ultimate in service.

"In a short period of time, Stander has an advantage in the industry's accumulation, and if we turn our technological advantages into market advantages and lead the segmented track, we will win." Wang Yongkun believes that to polish up usable products, It is necessary for the team to master cutting-edge technologies such as algorithms, and to have a deep understanding of the in-depth customization requirements of industrial scenarios such as 3C. At the same time, it should also have the ability to respond quickly to customers. In Wang Yongkun's eyes, Stander has evolved from a core component supplier to a provider of intelligent and flexible industrial logistics solutions. Stander has its own algorithms and software systems, and has relatively complete robot scene service capabilities.

"Although the automotive and 3C industries will be cold in 2019, with the advent of the 5G era, the manufacturing industry will usher in a new wave of climax." Wang Yongkun told "CEConline" that in the next 10 years Even for 30 years, industrial robots are an important big industry, so Stander must maintain strong vitality. "In 5-10 years, I hope that Stander will become the most professional technology company in the subdivision track. In the coming year, Stander will do its best to do one thing: go overseas and build a global brand."

Photo/Wang Yongkun