How will optoelectronic materials and humanoid robots develop in the future? Academicians and experts discuss innovative paths

Peng Shou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, chief scientist of China National Building Materials Group Corporation, and director of the National Glass New Materials Innovation Center. All the images in this article are provided by the organizer

On December 23rd, the Academic Symposium on Engineering Science and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the 2025 China Optoelectronic Materials Conference were held in Putuo District, Shanghai. The conference brought together academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering in the field of materials, industry experts, scholars, entrepreneurs, etc., focusing on the cutting-edge of optoelectronic materials to discuss innovative development paths.

With the in-depth development of the new round of global technological revolution and industrial transformation, optoelectronic materials are constantly breaking through boundaries and embracing unprecedented development opportunities. Peng Shou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, chief scientist of China National Building Materials Group Corporation and director of the National Glass New Materials Innovation Center, said in an interview.

What does optoelectronic material cover? Optoelectronic materials are functional materials used to manufacture optoelectronic devices, possessing the ability to convert photon and electron energy. They are widely applied in multiple fields such as energy, communication, display, and sensing. Thanks to the vigorous development of emerging industries such as smart cities, solar power generation, and new energy vehicles, China's optoelectronic materials industry is currently in a stage of rapid growth, with its market size continuously expanding.

The 8th Plenary Session of the 12th Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China held on December 22nd clearly stated that during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, Shanghai will focus on building a modern industrial system of "2+3+6+6". Advanced materials and future materials have been respectively included in the 6 emerging pillar industries and 6 future industries.

Academician Li Yanrong of the Chinese Academy of Engineering pointed out at the conference that optoelectronic materials, as the material basis of the information age and the energy revolution, have become a key area for the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation. The breakthroughs in their innovation are related to China's strategic position in the global scientific and technological competition landscape.

In Peng Shou's view, looking at the global picture, China is still in the stage of "catching up" and "keeping pace" in the field of materials. "At present, universities across the country have begun to focus on research in optoelectronic materials, especially semiconductor materials, which is an important development direction for the future." Looking to the future, we should focus on improving the industrial chain and supply chain of optoelectronic materials and new materials.

Zhang Ying, the deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Municipal Government, pointed out that in recent years, Shanghai has closely revolved around the national strategic demands, focused on "high-end technology, large-scale industry, and clustered application", and regarded the new materials industry such as optoelectronic materials as one of the key development industries. It has initially formed an innovative ecosystem from basic research and development, technology transfer to industrial application.

Hu Guangjie, the secretary of the CPC Putuo District Committee, pointed out that Putuo has advantages such as a fertile ground for innovation, an industrial ecosystem, and development space in developing the optoelectronic materials industry. Looking to the future, Putuo will further deepen and solidify the resource list, demand list and cooperation list along the Shanghai-Nanjing line, strengthen the new materials industry chain alliance in the Yangtze River Delta, promote resource sharing and complementary advantages among various entities, and at the same time, build a precise service system covering the entire cycle of enterprises around the three major stages of "early-stage research and development, technology transfer and innovation and entrepreneurship".

On that day, the conference established the "Putuo District Industrial Development Strategy Advisory Committee" to provide strategic support for scientific decision-making and innovative development of regional industries. At the same time, the unveiling ceremony of the "Shanghai Center of National Glass New Materials Innovation Center" was held. The center will be based in Putuo, focusing on the research and development of new-generation key glass new materials, and empowering the upgrading of high-end manufacturing industries.

Academician Ding Han of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the director of the Academic Committee of Huazhong University of Science and Technology talks about the future development of humanoid robots.

The development of humanoid robots also received attention at this conference. Ding Han, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the director of the Academic Committee of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, pointed out that the research on humanoid robots involves the intersection and integration of multiple disciplines such as mechanics, electrical engineering, materials, sensing, control, and artificial intelligence, and is internationally recognized as the culmination and peak of robot technology. However, at present, humanoid robots are still in the stage of performance sales and are far from being applied in various scenarios. They still require scientific research breakthroughs and technological development.

In the future, humanoid robots will not only be applied in scenarios such as automotive manufacturing, logistics, elderly care, and domestic services, but also may become an important force in military security and space development. Ding Han believes that the breakthrough in massive data and computing power capabilities brings new opportunities for the development of robot brains. In the future, robots will accelerate their evolution from single-function devices to general intelligent agents. Robots can achieve manufacturing in multiple process flows, super-large components, and extreme environments. By using ubiquitous robots to complete ubiquitous manufacturing, roboized manufacturing will transform the future manufacturing model.

In Ding Han's view, the key technology of intelligent manufacturing is robots. Robots are the "limbs" of intelligent manufacturing. "In the future, manufacturing can reach the sky and the sea, and can be applied to extremely large sizes and narrow Spaces. Therefore, the robot system needs to have greater flexibility." The future of humanoid robots is to become universal. The core technology is to simulate human thinking and also need to have "dexterous hands". The research and development of dexterous hands is very difficult and is limited by the design of the body hardware such as core components, mechanical drive structure and control algorithms, etc. All these determine whether humanoid robots can enter the universal market in the future.