(Yicai) Oct. 30 -- China has launched its first robot simulation training field fully developed using self-reliant technology in Wuhan's Dongxihu district.

The core technology for the new field was derived from Beijing-based Motphys' MotrixSim embodied intelligence simulation platform, Yicai learned during an opening ceremony today.

The biggest challenge in embodied intelligence is the lack of data, with real-world data requiring physical environments, investing in many robots, teleoperation gear, and personnel, making collection inefficient, costly, and limiting scenarios, leading to low data output despite the high quality. In addition, simulation data is generated by building virtual environments that solve the high cost and limited scenarios problems, but create an issue with making virtual environments resemble real ones.

Simulation training is like a "virtual school" for robots, said Cui Hanqing, founder of Motphys. From supermarket shopping and restaurant services to home care and industrial operations, various highly realistic scenarios continuously generate simulation data for different robots, providing the foundational support for the evolution of their "brain," Cui pointed out.

Using a virtual reality headset, people enter a world where they help the robots learn. For example, a Yicai reporter took a drink from the shelf in a virtual supermarket while a robot in the real world instantly understood and got the same drink from its shelf. In addition, after the reporter folded a virtual quilt, a robot immediately folded its own quilt into a neat shape.

The base computing power consumption of MotrixSim, the first homegrown high-performance physics engine, is less than one-tenth of that of its foreign rivals, Cui noted. It is compatible with domestic chips and operating systems, has an industrial-grade precision, and its training scale, accuracy, and computational efficiency in embodied intelligence have surpassed those of the US chip giant Nvidia, Cui said, but added that there is still a gap in ecosystem development.

"We insist on innovating from the ground up," Cui pointed out. "Every line of code, every toolchain, and every data pipeline is self-developed and MotrixSim has achieved full technical autonomy and control across the entire chain."

Several leading robot manufacturers, including Unitree Robotics and Xinghaitu, have connected to MotrixSim for trial training.

Editor: Martin Kadiev