London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

China’s latest robots move so smoothly scientists dubbed them ‘zero gravity’

China’s latest robots move so smoothly scientists dubbed them ‘zero gravity’

Robotic arm that makes heavy lifting easier can enhance and speed up bespoke projects such as building satellites, researchers say. Use of robots is speeding up construction of China’s BeiDou global positioning system, researchers say
China is developing robotic arms to help further its advances in space that operate so smoothly alongside humans that scientists have dubbed their movements “zero gravity”.

The technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) with cutting-edge sensors to help the “robot”, essentially a giant arm, grip and lift heavy objects, according to scientists with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the state-owned main contractor for the country’s space programme.

The sensors allow the arm to collaborate seamlessly with human technicians to perform tasks in a fraction of the time they took before – which is proving a particular advantage in China’s endeavours in space.

When Hu Ruiqin and colleagues started their programme at the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft Environment Engineering about a decade ago, building a satellite was a labour-intensive job. Technicians had to lift and mount parts by hand, or with the help of cranes, which risked damaging components or affecting the quality of assembly.

The researchers put sophisticated visual and mechanical sensors on the robotic arm. They upgraded its motors to achieve gentle, smooth movements when holding a heavy object. They also gave it a brain with AI algorithms.

They were aiming to create technology that could “feel” the surrounding environment and respond, interacting with humans.

Usually, robots in industrial plants have been used for repetitive, uniform tasks – doing the same job in a static position. For tasks such as building satellites, which are produced in small numbers, each mission tended to involve different hardware. The new robot combines the best of humans and automation, according to the project team.

Dr Liu Li, a researcher with the department of mechanical engineering at Tsinghua University, who was not involved in the project, said the technical challenge was huge.

Most research on interactive industrial robots has remained in the laboratory because of the complexity of real-world environments, she said.

“Large-scale application in industries is limited … because the robot may work on one occasion and fail in another.”

The use of robots is speeding up construction of China’s BeiDou network, which has overtaken the US-developed Global Positioning System, or GPS, to become the world’s largest satellite navigation system, the researchers said.

In the past three years, the technology has been used in more than 30 major space missions, including those involving the Chinese military’s new generation of surveillance satellites, the first rover landing on the far side of the moon, and the assembly of core modules for the Chinese Space Station.

By Sunday, China had conducted 27 space launches this year – as many as the United States, the European Union and India combined.

China still trails the US in the space race. The US leads the way with more than 900 satellites in orbit, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit science advocacy organisation in the US. China, in second place, has about 300.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
×