Hankook Ilbo, one of South Korea’s leading media outlets, recently launched its “2026 China Report,” a special series examining the evolution of China’s technology ecosystem across AI, robotics, smart hardware and urban innovation.
One of the reports focused on Orbbec, exploring the company from the perspective of the “eyes of robots.” The article examined how China’s robotics industry is able to iterate rapidly through close ecosystem collaboration, and how 3D vision is helping robots move from concept validation to real-world deployment.
As robotics and Physical AI continue to advance, the ability to perceive and understand the physical world is becoming a critical foundation for intelligent machines. For Orbbec, the coverage reflects growing international attention to the role of 3D vision in enabling robots to operate reliably in complex, real-world environments.
Robotics Iteration Depends on High-Density Ecosystem Collaboration
The speed of China’s technology industry is often described simply as “fast.” But behind that speed lies something more fundamental: short feedback loops across the value chain.
Robots are not smartphones, nor are they single consumer electronics products. A robot system involves sensors, actuators, mechanical structures, algorithms, control systems, robot integration, scenario validation and after-sales operations. If any one of these layers fails to perform reliably, the robot may remain limited to demonstration videos rather than entering factories, warehouses, hotels, hospitals, retail environments or homes.
The strength of China’s robotics ecosystem lies in the proximity of these layers. When customers raise a new requirement, sensor suppliers can quickly reproduce the issue. When robot manufacturers identify a challenge during testing, algorithm and hardware teams can adjust in parallel. When a prototype fails to meet real-world requirements, the supply chain can rapidly support redesign, testing and iteration.
This is not the result of one company moving forward alone. It is the result of an entire ecosystem iterating at high frequency.
In its report, Hankook Ilbo specifically highlighted the Shenzhen robotics ecosystem surrounding Orbbec. Shenzhen brings together sensors, core components, algorithms, robot manufacturers, advanced manufacturing resources and application scenarios, creating an efficient closed loop from demand feedback and technical validation to prototype testing and scaled delivery.
This context matters more than the simple fact that a robot uses a specific camera. For robotics companies, the shorter the feedback loop, the faster the iteration. The faster the iteration, the higher the probability of commercial deployment.
This is also why Orbbec serves as a meaningful case study. The company may not stand at the most visible end of the robotics value chain, but it operates in a layer that is essential to real-world deployment: enabling robots to see and understand the physical world.
3D Vision Is Becoming a Foundational Interface for Real-World Robotics
When robots enter real applications, the challenges become far more specific. Can they recognize transparent, reflective or low-texture objects? Can they operate reliably under strong light, low light or reflective conditions? Can they detect slopes, obstacles, edges and spatial structures? Can they maintain consistency and reliability during large-scale deployment?
These questions may not always be the most visible, but they directly determine whether robots can operate reliably over time.
If large models and control algorithms enhance a robot’s understanding and decision-making capabilities, 3D vision provides the spatial information robots need to perceive the physical world. Without stable spatial perception, robots cannot reliably perform navigation, obstacle avoidance, grasping, localization, measurement or human-robot interaction.
Humanoid robots need 3D vision to understand the ground, slopes and surrounding structures. AMRs rely on it for obstacle avoidance and path planning. Service robots need it to operate in crowded and unstructured environments. Industrial robots use it to improve recognition, positioning, inspection and collaborative operations.
As robotics moves from demonstration to real-world deployment, the value of 3D vision is being further recognized. It is no longer simply a hardware component. It is becoming a foundational interface for robots and AI devices entering the physical world.
The more complex the scenario, the more demanding the requirements become. Vision systems must integrate capabilities across chips, algorithms, modules, synchronization, calibration, mass production and global delivery.
Orbbec’s technology development is focused on this foundational layer. Through a robotics and AI vision portfolio that covers multiple technology routes and application scenarios, Orbbec provides spatial perception capabilities for humanoid robots, service robots, industrial automation, 3D scanning, AIoT and Physical AI data collection.
Providing Platform-Level Capabilities for the Global Robotics Ecosystem
Hankook Ilbo’s coverage also reflects the growing attention overseas markets are paying to China’s robotics supply chain and vision sensor companies. As the global robotics industry accelerates, the strengths of different regional ecosystems are creating broader opportunities for collaboration.
South Korea has deep industrial capabilities in automotive, electronics, semiconductors, precision manufacturing and system integration. China has accumulated strong capabilities in smart hardware supply chains, fast engineering iteration, dense application scenarios and scalable manufacturing.
For the robotics industry, foundational perception components such as vision sensors require not only long-term technology accumulation, but also continuous optimization across real-world scenarios, stable mass production and global delivery capabilities.
Orbbec is continuing to provide reliable platform-level capabilities for the global robotics and AI industries.
First, 3D vision is reusable across scenarios. It is not limited to humanoid robots, but is also widely used in AMRs, service robots, industrial automation, 3D scanning, AIoT, smart hardware and Physical AI data collection. While individual downstream markets may experience cycles, foundational perception capabilities can be transferred across industries.
Second, as customers move toward maturity, their requirements become more stable. Early-stage robotics companies may test different solutions, but once they enter mass production and real-world deployment, switching suppliers becomes more complex. Vision systems involve calibration, structural design, algorithm adaptation, data interfaces and overall system reliability. Once integrated into a customer’s product architecture, the relationship becomes increasingly embedded.
Third, global expansion is not only about selling hardware. It is also a competition in global delivery capability. Overseas customers evaluate more than technical specifications. They also consider delivery stability, supply chain resilience, cost structure and local support. Against the backdrop of a reshaping global manufacturing system, suppliers with coordinated manufacturing capabilities across China and overseas markets will have greater operational flexibility than those relying on a single production base.
The future of robotics will not be determined only by demonstration performance. It will depend on whether robots can operate reliably in real environments, perceive their surroundings accurately and scale across industries.
As an important player in robotics and AI vision, Orbbec will continue to advance its core 3D vision technologies, product portfolio, manufacturing capabilities and global service system. By building platform-level capabilities for the global market, Orbbec aims to help robots and Physical AI systems develop more efficiently, deploy more reliably and enter the real world at scale.
Read the full article by Hankook Ilbo: https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2026060309310003125
