(Yicai) Oct. 28 -- Shanghai has released an action plan to accelerate the development of next-generation smart manufacturing, aiming for 8,000 humanoid robots to enter its factories by 2028, achieving full smart-factory coverage among key local manufacturers and a next-gen smart manufacturing equipment industry worth more than CNY200 billion (USD28.1 billion).

The plan, issued by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization yesterday, lays out 19 specific measures across four initiatives: leading the supply of next-gen smart manufacturing, building an artificial intelligence plus manufacturing innovation foundation, developing smart factories in tiers, and fostering a next-gen smart manufacturing ecosystem.

For smart manufacturing equipment, Shanghai will push the deep integration of AI with equipment, developing and promoting physical AI gear, including robots, industrial mother machines, and testing equipment capable of autonomous perception and decision-making, and supporting breakthroughs in humanoid, collaborative, and high-precision, heavy-load robots. The plan calls for upgrading smart manufacturing gear into “equipment agents,” a notable new formulation in the document.

Regarding AI plus manufacturing, the city will accelerate breakthroughs in high-performance AI chips, advance pilot programs for dedicated industrial fifth-gen/enhanced ultra-high-throughput networks, support the rollout of 5G-A and 10-gigabit optical networks, and speed up the development of a “hub-region-edge” computing infrastructure system.

The plan also calls for building more than 10 vertical large language models for the high-end equipment, shipbuilding and marine engineering, and industrial software sectors, as well as rolling out more than 300 AI agents or specialized models for high-value scenarios, including assisted design, adaptive production adjustment, and predictive maintenance.

In addition, Shanghai aims to build 1,600 basic-level, 500 advanced-level, 50 excellence-level, and five pioneer-level smart factories by 2028, with smart factory AI application scenarios exceeding 2,000. Basic-level smart plants are targeted to reach full AI adoption, while the share at advanced-, excellence-, and pioneer-level smart factories is targeted to reach 10 percent, 30 percent, and 70 percent, respectively.

Shanghai aims for its AI-enabled next-gen smart manufacturing equipment industry to exceed CNY200 billion by 2028, with the smart manufacturing systems integration industry topping CNY100 billion and industrial robot density reaching 600 units per 10,000 workers.

Editor: Martin Kadiev