Mobile Robots and Embodied Intelligence Merge, Setting Stage for Industry Shakeout

The mobile robot industry is accelerating its integration with embodied intelligence, intensifying competition as more players enter. Industry observers expect this evolution to trigger a new round of survival-of-the-fittest, with companies under pressure to improve products and commercial deployment.

Chen Hongbo, co-founder and vice president of Guangdong Jaten Robot Automation Co., Ltd., a mobile robot maker that started with automated guided vehicles (AGVs), said on Oct. 20 in Shunde that the sector will face a reshuffle next year. Speaking to Yicai, Chen said mobile robots are evolving from single-purpose transport tools into intelligent agents with autonomous adaptability. Companies must keep upgrading perception, decision-making and control capabilities and expand into complex scenarios such as flexible manufacturing and warehouse logistics, he said. The competitive focus is shifting from hardware cost to system capability and deployment efficiency, making execution and scene adaptation key to standing out in the coming shakeout.