Chinese industrial giants are significantly increasing the use of AI-powered robots to manage critical infrastructure. The main grid operator plans to deploy thousands of robots for tasks ranging from substation inspections to maintaining high-voltage power lines.

China’s industrial giants are rapidly scaling up the use of AI-powered robots to operate vital infrastructure, with the country’s main grid operator unveiling a blockbuster plan to deploy thousands of bots to handle a range of roles – from inspecting remote substations to performing maintenance on ultra-high-voltage power lines. The State Grid Corporation of China has earmarked 6.8 billion yuan (US$1 billion) for the procurement of embodied intelligence – or artificial intelligence-enabled...