The rapid development of the global economy has so far reached a population of 7.7 billion. With the increase in population, the demand for and consumption of natural resources by mankind is also increasing, land resources are depleted day by day, and people’s desire to explore marine resources for survival is also increasing. strong. Various ocean exploration projects have also been researched and carried out. As an advanced exploration, underwater robots have been continuously applied to this field, and have received rapid development and high attention.

The underwater robot is a kind of extreme operation robot that works underwater, with a development history of more than 60 years. The underwater environment is harsh, human diving depth is limited and dangerous, so underwater robots will replace humans in underwater operations. Underwater robots were originally used in military, scientific research and other fields. They are equipped with sonar systems, cameras, lights, and robotic arms. They can perform real-time video transmission, sonar image rendering, and various professional operations such as grabbing heavy objects. At present, underwater robots have been widely used in marine exploration, fishery breeding, underwater inspection and maintenance, search and rescue, consumer entertainment, military, education and other fields.

The three giants in the global underwater robot industry are 3M, Sherwin-Williams Coatings, and Swarco AG. The total sales of underwater robots of the three companies in 2018 accounted for approximately 20% of the total global sales. Brother Luzhao is the largest manufacturer of underwater robots in China. The underwater robot industry is mainly concentrated in North America, Europe, China, Japan and other countries and regions.

In 1985, my country began the research and development of underwater robots, developed the "Hairen" 1 (HR-1) underwater robot, and successfully conducted underwater experiments. With the breakthrough of my country's underwater robot technology in 2013, a number of underwater robot entrepreneurs emerged in my country, and there are still hundreds of companies engaged in the underwater robot industry. In 2018, China's underwater robot industry accounted for 25% of global sales. , Has attracted almost all international giants to carry out related businesses in China. At the same time, domestic companies represented by Brother Road Sign have also achieved rapid development in the past few years, and their domestic market share has continued to rise. However, due to the late start of my country's underwater robots, the commercial prospects are still unclear.

At present, the main application scenarios of underwater robots are in the consumer, industrial and military directions.

1. The consumer sector. In November 2016, the General Administration of Sports issued the "Water Sports Industry Development Plan", which put forward many development plans and guidance from the perspectives of the construction of water sports sports facilities, the supply of event activities, the cultivation of multiple subjects, and the guidance of water consumption, and proposed it by 2020 The total scale of the water sports industry has reached 300 billion yuan, the number of water sports clubs has reached 1,000, and the national water (sea) national recreational sports centers have reached 10 and other development goals. In addition to policy promotion, factors such as public demand and tourism development are driving the rapid development of the diving industry.

2. Industrial field. According to public data, by 2020, the scale of my country's national underwater robot market will reach 58.06 billion yuan, of which the market size of resource exploration underwater robots will be 24.15 billion yuan, accounting for 41.59% of the market; the market size of safety monitoring underwater robots Divided into 19.43 billion yuan, the market share is 33.45%; the search and rescue robot market will reach 6.83 billion yuan, with a market share of 11.75%.

3. Military industry. According to public data from the Ministry of Finance, my country's defense expenditures reached 1107.0 billion yuan in 2018, an increase of 8.1% year-on-year compared to 2017's 1017.3 billion yuan. This is a substantial increase compared to the previous year, and the future investment expenditures on scientific and technological research and development will be increased. Continue to increase.

For the domestic underwater robot industry, it is also currently facing many problems. Among them, the most important thing is that domestic core technologies are restricted by foreign countries, and maintenance and support costs are relatively high. Therefore, although the underwater robot industry is in great demand, the process of localization is slow, mass production is difficult, and the cost of popularization and application is expensive. However, the attention of capital will surely bring more opportunities for the growth of underwater robot players and the iteration of products. On the other hand, as the government strengthens the development of oceans, it is believed that the policy will also provide more support to players in the underwater robot industry.

Judging from the current situation, the Chinese people's ocean awareness is gradually increasing, and their love for the ocean is slowly being stimulated. The market demand for underwater robots is expected to expand steadily in the future, and the market prospects are very worth looking forward to.