China designs AI-powered robots to alleviate labor shortage

China has designed artificial intelligence (AI)-powered rubber-tapping robots in an attempt to tackle chronic labor shortages plaguing its natural rubber industry, state media reported Monday.

Jointly developed by the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) and Beijing-based tech firm Automotive Walking Technology, the self-navigating robots mark a leap forward in agricultural automation, the Beijing-based Xinhua News Agency reported.

The robots are set to undergo trials in rubber plantations in China's southern Hainan province during the tapping season in April.

China's natural rubber sector, which is vital for tire manufacturing and as a source of industrial supplies, is currently facing a major workforce shortage due to its exhausting working conditions, nocturnal shifts and high incidence of occupational diseases.

"The rubber-tapping robots have been developed to address the exodus of rubber tappers, which is the industry's critical pain point," Cao Jianhua, deputy director of the CATAS rubber research institute, was quoted as saying by Xinhua News.

Powered by lithium batteries that provide over eight hours of continuous operation, the rubber-tapping robots can harvest 100 to 120 trees per hour.

Once in the mass-production phase, the cost of the rubber-tapping robot will drop below 100,000 yuan ($13,794), and for a 3.33-hectare (8.22-acre) rubber garden, robot-based tapping will recoup the purchase cost within about 18 months, said Sun Yao, co-founder of Automotive Walking Technology.

"We've been in discussions with several multinational tire companies and rubber growers throughout Southeast Asia, including in Indonesia and Thailand, and they're showing strong interest in our product," said Cao.