Beijing, July 04 (QNA) - China has inaugurated its first school dedicated to "robot students" in Hangzhou city.

The move is broadly intended to prepare robots for deployment in real-world environments through an integrated system of assessment, training and professional certification.

The program culminates in the awarding of specialized skills certificates qualifying robots to enter the workforce, thereby setting in motion the transition of embodied AI from laboratories to a broad spectrum of industrial and service sectors.

The school's mission extends well beyond fostering robots' physical capabilities. Its primary focus is on strengthening their "intelligent brain" by advancing perception, logical reasoning and decision-making capabilities, enabling them to carry out tasks more efficiently in complex real-world settings.

The training framework comprises four principal stages. It begins with an admission health check, during which each robot undergoes a comprehensive battery of examinations to assess the performance of its hardware, the integrity of its operating systems and the compatibility of its algorithms, much like the entrance examinations taken by human students.

Robots then proceed to specialized training, where they are assigned to vocational tracks tailored to their intended occupations. These include industrial applications, healthcare, the arts and sports, in accordance with labor market requirements.

The third stage consists of real-world assessment, during which robots are evaluated in practical operating environments to determine whether they can perform assigned tasks effectively outside laboratory conditions.

The final stage is professional certification, in which accredited specialized institutions conduct comprehensive evaluations of each robot's capabilities.

Robots that successfully make the cut are awarded specialized professional certificates qualifying them for specific occupations, while those that fall short of the required standards continue their training and learning programs until they satisfy all certification requirements.

Hangzhou is home to more than 700 robotics-related enterprises, accounting for more than 80 percent of China's quadruped robotics sector and over 50 percent of the country's humanoid robotics industry, underscoring the city's emergence as a strongpoint of China's robotics ecosystem.

During the first quarter of this year, the city's core AI industry generated revenue of ¥122.9 billion (approximately $18.1 billion), marking a year-on-year increase of 25.2 percent. (QNA)