A national key program on robotics development is launched in Yuyao, Ningbo city on July 13. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

A national key program focusing on the intelligent upgrading of robot controller products, kicked off in Yuyao, a county-level city in Ningbo on July 13.

The program is being led by Emergen Group, a Ningbo company specializing in the research and development of robotics products, and is supported by a group of leading agencies including Peking University, Zhejiang University, Shanghai Electric Group and Shenzhen Academy of Robotics.

The controller, the most important part of a robot, is always considered to be the "brain". Emergen Group, led by a group of top scientists, has recently broken the monopoly of overseas companies in high-performance robot controllers in China after years of research and development.

The aim of the program is to consolidate the strengths of different agencies in order to further improve the performance of home-made controller products.

"The robotics industry has ushered in a new era and we hope that through joint efforts, the bottlenecks in the production process created by inadequate technologies can be eliminated," said Chi Yonglin, chief scientist of Emergen Group.

Representatives from the participating agencies in the national program pose for a group photo in Yuyao on July 13. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]