In a significant move to capitalize on the global rise of embodied intelligence, the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Office has officially released the “Shanghai Embodied Intelligence Industry Development Implementation Plan.” This comprehensive strategy aims to seize development opportunities, accelerate the formation of future industrial innovation cluster ecosystems, and establish Shanghai as a global innovation hub for the embodied intelligence industry. The plan outlines a clear path for technological breakthroughs, infrastructure development, and widespread application, positioning the city at the forefront of this transformative field.
The core objective of the plan is to achieve a substantial industrial scale. By 2027, Shanghai targets more than 20 core breakthroughs in algorithms and technologies related to embodied models and embodied corpora. The city will establish no fewer than four high-quality incubators dedicated to embodied intelligence, attracting hundreds of leading industry enterprises. This effort will culminate in the deployment of one hundred innovative application scenarios and the promotion of one hundred internationally leading products. Ultimately, the scale of Shanghai’s core embodied intelligence industry is projected to surpass 50 billion yuan, marking a significant milestone in its technological and economic development.
1. Model-Driven Strategy and Intelligent Brain Empowerment
The implementation plan emphasizes a model-driven approach, reinforcing intelligent brain empowerment to build an independent innovation system covering the entire technology chain of embodied intelligence. Key technological areas will receive focused support, with funding of up to 30% of the total project investment, capped at 50 million yuan, for approved projects.
- Perception and Decision-Making Models: Universities and research institutions are encouraged to develop integrated capabilities for large embodied intelligence models. Research into active perception, planning and decision-making, and voice interaction technologies will be supported to enhance core competencies such as real-time interaction and autonomous learning, facilitating large-scale application. This is fundamental for advancing embodied intelligence systems.
- Motion Control Models: Support will be provided for local robotics companies in Shanghai to collaborate with foundational model enterprises, accelerating breakthroughs in motion control models. The goal is to construct a universal motion control system and a library of manipulation skills. By overcoming underlying algorithms, dexterous manipulation and adaptive capabilities will be improved, fostering new paradigms for the emergence and generalization of motion intelligence in embodied robot platforms.
- Embodied Coordination Technology: Efforts will be accelerated to explore technological architectures like dual systems and end-to-end approaches for embodied intelligence, enhancing the coordination of upper and lower limbs, hand-eye coordination, and brain-body integration. The development of autonomous embodied models, platforms, and frameworks will be encouraged, breaking through technologies for autonomous operation and heterogeneous collaboration to elevate the level of information sharing and teamwork in complex environments involving multiple embodied robot units.
- Embodied Corpora Technology: Leveraging the municipal corpora platform, collaborative efforts from various stakeholders will be fostered to tackle common technological challenges in corpora and construct large-scale corpora libraries. Toolchains for corpora processing will be developed to build high-quality embodied datasets and a complete technological system. Enterprises purchasing corpora service products will be eligible for corpora vouchers supporting up to 5 million yuan annually, directly fueling research and development in embodied intelligence.
- Autonomous Operating Systems: Enterprises, universities, and research institutes are supported in jointly researching and developing multi-modal data fusion processing technologies to create autonomous operating systems. Collaboration with robot manufacturers and scientific research institutions will be promoted to pilot the application of embodied intelligence operating systems in fields such as industrial manufacturing, logistics distribution, and commercial services. This will drive version iteration and optimization, gradually building a mature, reliable, and widely adopted ecosystem for embodied intelligence operating systems, which is critical for the scalability of embodied robot deployments.
2. Construction of Five Major Platforms to Solidify the Industrial Foundation
To address the common development needs of the embodied intelligence sector, the plan proposes the integration of city-wide resources to construct five key platforms: computing power, training grounds, pilot testing, investment, and leasing. These platforms are designed to solidify the foundational base for the embodied intelligence industry. Projects related to industrial innovation service platform construction can receive support of up to 50% of the total project investment, with a maximum of 20 million yuan.
- Computing Power Platform: The municipal intelligent computing power public service platform and the resource coordination and scheduling platform will be optimized. Existing intelligent computing resources in Shanghai will be coordinated and managed efficiently. Enterprises in the embodied intelligence field that achieve a certain scale of computing power leasing will be eligible for computing power vouchers supporting up to 40 million yuan annually, providing crucial infrastructure for training complex embodied intelligence models.
- Digital Twin Training Grounds: Innovative methods for corpora collection, including scenarios, tasks, and action skills, will be developed through the construction of digital twin training grounds. These environments will enable a closed-loop digital twin training process of “simulation training – real-world verification – iterative learning,” empowering the training of large embodied intelligence models and accelerating the development of capable embodied robot systems.
- Pilot Testing Platform: Multiple entities are encouraged to establish pilot testing platforms for embodied intelligence. Integrated pilot services before mass production are promoted to facilitate the transformation of technological achievements into practical applications. The cultivation of interdisciplinary pilot engineer teams will be supported to enhance the capacity and supply of industrial pilot services, ensuring that new embodied intelligence technologies are robust and market-ready.
- Investment Platform: The strategic guiding role of the municipal artificial intelligence pioneer industry mother fund will be strengthened. High-quality enterprises will be encouraged to establish corporate venture capital funds and industrial ecosystem funds. A mechanism combining “early-stage cultivation and early-stage investment” will be perfected to precisely support related enterprises in the embodied intelligence field. New models such as using computing power and corpora as equity contributions will be explored, alongside the development of novel financial instruments tailored for embodied intelligence, improving financing accessibility for small and medium-sized enterprises focused on embodied robot development.
- Leasing Platform: Capitalizing on Shanghai’s advantages in financial resources and application scenario concentration, the exploration of a municipal leasing platform driven by both a “financial toolchain” and an “industrial service chain” will be supported. Cooperation between financial institutions and enterprises producing embodied intelligence terminals and core components will be encouraged to swiftly bring technological achievements into the application market. A batch of operation and maintenance institutions specializing in leasing services will be cultivated, enhancing the professional service capability within the embodied intelligence domain, making advanced embodied robot technology more accessible.
3. Creating Application Demonstration Benchmarks Across Key Sectors
The plan also emphasizes the creation of application demonstration benchmarks. Building on Shanghai’s industrial strengths, key areas including logistics and assembly, industrial manufacturing, commercial retail, healthcare and wellness, and domestic services will serve as the牵引. Scenario collections and task unveiling will be conducted to explore new formats for embodied intelligence applications. Projects for industrial innovation integration and demonstration applications can receive support of up to 20% of the total project investment, capped at 10 million yuan.
- Embodied Intelligence + Logistics and Assembly: Support will be provided for the application of embodied intelligence in processes such as express sorting, warehouse handling, and last-mile delivery. Collaboration between logistics enterprises and hub storage bases will be fostered to create demonstration models with complete operational workflows and rich scenario elements, forming a set of replicable and promotable intelligent logistics新模式. This integration is expected to significantly enhance efficiency through the deployment of specialized embodied robot systems.
- Embodied Intelligence + Industrial Manufacturing: Industrial enterprises are supported in promoting the practical application of embodied intelligence in manufacturing links like assembly, inspection, emergency response, and material handling. Quality enterprises in industries such as automotive, steel, and shipping are encouraged to conduct integrated innovation based on actual production needs, creating human-machine collaborative intelligent manufacturing work units. This aims to enhance the automation level of complex processes and accelerate the construction of embodied workshops with industry-leading influence, where embodied robot workers collaborate seamlessly with humans.
- Embodied Intelligence + Commercial Retail: Commercial entities are supported in deploying embodied intelligence across multiple scenarios in spaces like shopping malls, exhibition halls, airports, and parks. Commercial institutions are encouraged to integrate services such as guided tours, customer reception, and security patrols, improving multi-modal interaction and human-machine collaboration capabilities to create intelligent, high-experience new forms of commercial service. These embodied robot assistants will transform the customer experience.
- Embodied Intelligence + Healthcare and Wellness: Medical institutions and elderly care facilities are supported in exploring demonstration applications of embodied intelligence in healthcare and wellness services. The research and development of medical and nursing robots possessing multi-modal perception, compliant motion, and scene-adaptive decision-making capabilities will be promoted. Simulation training platforms will be constructed to break through the adaptability bottleneck for multiple tasks in complex scenes, forming safe and appropriate solutions for辅助 medical and rehabilitation purposes, ultimately driving the industry’s upgrade from single-machine intelligence to group service formats involving multiple embodied robot units.
- Embodied Intelligence + Domestic Services: Shanghai’s smart home service agencies, public rental housing service agencies, and others are encouraged to collaborate with robotics companies, large model enterprises, and other parties to promote the落地 of embodied intelligence in domestic service-related scenarios like home cleaning, meal assistance, emotional companionship, and safety monitoring. The development of products deeply adapted to living spaces and enhancing home happiness is supported. Algorithm libraries for motion control driven by both data and mechanism will be constructed to achieve safe and human-like domestic services, creating new models for intelligent living powered by versatile embodied robot helpers.
4. Promoting High-Quality Coordinated Development of the Entire Industry Chain
The implementation plan proposes strengthening Shanghai’s overall layout, leveraging cluster and chain aggregation effects, accelerating the development of embodied intelligence terminal products, promoting the R&D and production of core components, cultivating and strengthening high-quality enterprises, fostering innovative industrial chains, building characteristic industrial clusters, and promoting the high-quality coordinated development of the entire industry chain for embodied intelligence.
- Developing Core Components: Capitalizing on Shanghai’s集聚 advantages in independent intelligent computing chips, robotics companies, and large model enterprises, the development of core components such as specialized chips for embodied intelligence and core motherboards will be accelerated. The synergistic adaptation capability between software and hardware will be enhanced. Key supporting products matching the needs of embodied robot platforms will be developed. Enterprises producing high-value components like joint modules, intelligent sensors, and vision cameras will be encouraged to establish R&D and production bases in Shanghai, solidifying the supply chain for embodied intelligence hardware.
- Developing Embodied Intelligence Terminal Products: Support will be provided for the research and development of terminals, represented by public version machines, and their mass production processes will be accelerated. The development of operational and intelligent embodied intelligence terminal products is encouraged to create “bestselling single items,” which can be recommended for inclusion in Shanghai’s Innovation Product Recommendation Catalog. The industrial capability for embodied intelligence will be cultivated in phases, promoting large-scale commercial application from mature application scenarios to pilot application scenarios, gradually increasing the market penetration of embodied robot products.
- Cultivating and Strengthening High-Quality Enterprises: Efforts will be made to attract and cultivate a group of high-quality enterprises and leading industrial ecosystem enterprises. Enterprises that sell or lease embodied intelligence robots will receive rewards based on the contract value,按规定, up to 5% and not exceeding 5 million yuan. Strategic cooperation with central and state-owned enterprises will be deepened, promoting the settlement of a number of regional headquarters and functional headquarters. High-quality industry enterprises, technology, and large internet companies are supported in establishing embodied intelligence entity companies in Shanghai, creating a vibrant ecosystem for embodied intelligence innovation.
- Building Characteristic Industrial Clusters: A city-district collaborative cultivation mechanism will be established. With Pudong’s Zhangjiang area as the core承载区, the entire industry chain layout for embodied intelligence will be accelerated.协同 with other key regions related to embodied intelligence will form characteristic industrial clusters with complementary functions and differentiated development. Special policies will be introduced to increase support for the first set of embodied intelligence equipment. Industrial synergistic layout will be strengthened, supporting the linked development of innovative enterprise clusters to create embodied robot industry clusters integrating R&D, manufacturing, and service. Industrial coordination with the Yangtze River Delta region will be enhanced, promoting cross-border cooperation among enterprises and improving the resource integration capability of the upstream and downstream industry chain for embodied intelligence.
5. Shaping a First-Class Ecosystem for Sustainable Growth
Furthermore, Shanghai will focus on open-source innovation, standard development, safety and ethics, talent attraction and cultivation, and open cooperation to further improve the supporting facilities and innovation development ecosystem for the embodied intelligence industry.
- Strengthening Open-Source Innovation: An open-source system encompassing all elements including models, data, algorithms, operating systems, and toolchains will be搭建. Open-source models and tools will be supported to reside in these platforms, providing standardized, low-threshold public services to various entities such as scientific research institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, and developers. Open-source communities and open-source products will receive rewards按规定, up to 5 million yuan, fostering collaboration and accelerating progress in embodied intelligence.
- Perfecting the Standard System: The exploration and construction of a standard system for embodied intelligence will be undertaken, accelerating the development and supply of standards focusing on areas like data corpora, scenario application, and pilot testing evaluation. Shanghai enterprises are supported to participate in the development and revision of various standards, continuously expanding their industry influence. Enterprises leading standard development and revision projects will receive support of up to 1 million yuan, ensuring that the development of embodied intelligence and embodied robot technologies follows consistent and high-quality benchmarks.
- Safety and Ethics Assurance: Focusing on key application scenarios, a safety risk assessment system will be constructed to ensure that complex interactions always comply with safety constraints and human values. A multi-agent collaborative governance structure will be搭建, encouraging public participation and continuous evaluation to build a closed-loop governance system, realizing the trustworthy, safe, and sustainable development of embodied intelligence, which is paramount for public acceptance of embodied robot systems.
- Accelerating Talent Attraction and Cultivation: Efforts will be intensified to introduce and cultivate a group of international leading talents and high-level innovation teams, creating a national pilot zone for top-tier talent cultivation in embodied intelligence. The establishment of an industry-academia-research linked order-based training mechanism will be promoted, building a multi-level talent cultivation system. An embodied intelligence “Hundred Schools Tour” plan will be launched to provide high-quality learning and practical resources for teachers and students in Shanghai’s schools, preparing the next generation of experts in embodied intelligence.
- Deepening Open Cooperation: Relying on platforms such as the World Artificial Intelligence Conference and the Global Developer Pioneer Conference, global cooperation platforms and exchange collaboration networks will be构建. Local embodied intelligence enterprises are supported to conduct project cooperation with internationally top-tier organizations. The promotion of commercial application services will be accelerated, application scenarios will be broadened, and commercial cooperation value will be continuously enhanced. International humanoid robot skill competitions will be hosted to enhance the international brand and explore international markets for Shanghai’s embodied intelligence and embodied robot technologies.
This comprehensive plan underscores Shanghai’s strategic commitment to becoming a global leader in the rapidly evolving field of embodied intelligence. By focusing on technological innovation, robust platform infrastructure, diverse application scenarios, full industry chain development, and a supportive ecosystem, the city is laying a solid foundation for the growth of its embodied intelligence core industry, targeting a breakthrough of 50 billion yuan by 2027 and fostering the widespread adoption of advanced embodied robot systems across society.