On December 19, the 2025 Forum on the Development of Atomic-Scale Manufacturing Industries opened in Shanghai. Themed Integrated Development for a Shared Future: Advancing Science and Industry in Tandem, the forum was co-organized by the Shanghai Industrial Technology Innovation Promotion Association and the Atomic-Scale Manufacturing Innovation and Development Alliance, and hosted by the Instrumentation Technology and Economy Institute. Nearly 700 guests from government ministries, local authorities, universities, research institutions, and innovative enterprises attended the event.Professor Chen Xiaoqi, Dean of the Shien-Ming Wu School of Intelligent Engineering and an Academician of the Royal Academy of Engineering, was invited as a special guest and gave an exclusive interview to CCTV.

In his interview, Academician Chen elaborated on the far-reaching significance of atomic-scale manufacturing for the future of technology and industrial development, with a focus on its critical role in industrial embodied AI robotics. He pointed out that atomic-scale manufacturing enables a leap from macroscopic continuous materials to atomic-scale discrete manufacturing, allowing atomic-level manipulation to directly determine product performance. This will bring systemic changes to future manufacturing methods and inject new momentum into industrial upgrading.

Specifically in the field of industrial robotics, atomic-scale manufacturing can drive the development of high-performance nano-sensors, such as highly sensitive torque sensors and vision sensors, enhancing robots' environmental perception accuracy and adaptability. At the same time, this technology can produce stronger and lighter structural materials for robot actuators and key components, reducing weight and improving movement flexibility while maintaining strength and stability, thus lowering energy consumption and comprehensively enhancing the operational capability and energy efficiency of industrial embodied AI robots.

In response to the opportunities presented by the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Shien-Ming Wu School of Intelligent Engineering is actively building a forward-looking interdisciplinary system. Focusing on the Robotics+ direction, the School is constructing a distinctive 156+X disciplinary cluster centered on industrial embodied AI robots. It conducts foundational research around five key common technologies, strives to develop six types of industrial embodied AI robot systems, and promotes innovative applications and project implementation in various scenarios such as intelligent manufacturing, healthcare, modern agriculture, and the low-altitude economy. The School aims to become a talent hub and technological innovation platform for industrial embodied AI robots in the Greater Bay Area, providing strong support for China's high-end manufacturing and intelligent development.(Text/Photos: Shien-Ming Wu School of Intelligent Engineering)