China's Robotics Industry Eyes "Android Moment" as Open-Source OS Gains Traction

AsianFin -- China’s fast-evolving robotics sector is entering a pivotal phase, as open-source development promises to reshape the landscape—and potentially unlock explosive growth. At the center of this transformation is M-Robots OS, a new open-source robotics operating system based on HarmonyOS, aimed at solving fragmentation across devices and vendors.

“The future potential of robotics is enormous. In 10 years, robots in the physical world could outnumber humans,” said Dr. Wang Chenglu, former Huawei executive and now CEO of Shenzhen Kaihong Digital Industry Development.

Wang, often called the “Father of HarmonyOS,” led Huawei’s push to develop the HarmonyOS operating system beginning in 2015. Now, at DeepinKaihong, he’s turning his focus to the foundation layer of robotics—the operating system—which he argues is essential to drive intelligence, collaboration, and ecosystem growth.

While China’s robotics industry has seen rapid hardware innovation, software remains a bottleneck. Many companies have developed proprietary platforms, resulting in fragmented systems that can’t communicate with one another. This slows collaboration and innovation, while raising costs.

Enter M-Robots OS, launched by DeepinKaihong as a domestic alternative built for distributed, real-time, and AI-native multi-robot coordination. Designed to enable cross-device collaboration, the system supports a variety of robot forms and hardware architectures, with a focus on open APIs and developer toolchains.

“HarmonyOS has no real value as a single-device system. Its true value lies in enabling multi-device collaboration,” Wang said. “With M-Robots OS, we want to unify the language of robots.”

The new OS is designed to scale across three stages of robotic development: standalone intelligence, swarm intelligence, and eventually self-organizing intelligence—where robots collaborate like teams to execute complex tasks.

While ROS (Robot Operating System) remains a widely used framework, industry insiders see growing limitations—especially when it comes to real-time performance, security, and scalability. Many robotics systems today are heavily dependent on specific hardware, limiting portability and cross-compatibility.

“Everyone is building similar systems, but quality varies widely,” Wang said. “Without a shared foundation, R&D efficiency is low and time-to-market is longer.”

According to Beihang University professor Niu Jianwei, existing embodied AI models are also struggling to scale. “In the physical world, robots must constantly perceive, learn, and adapt. Large models alone aren’t enough.”

M-Robots OS aims to close that loop—linking perception, decision-making, and execution through a network of connected devices. “Once robots can share their knowledge and perception, their collective intelligence will surpass any single unit,” Wang added.

Wang envisions M-Robots OS playing a role similar to what Android did for smartphones—reducing redundant development and driving rapid ecosystem growth. More than 21 companies have joined the project so far, including Chinasoft International, GAC Group, and the HIT Chongqing Institute.

The project plans two major open-source releases per year, with future updates shaped by industry demand and new technologies. DeepinKaihong believes this open model will lower barriers for new entrants and help smaller robotics firms scale efficiently.

Still, Wang acknowledges a deeper challenge: China’s developer community must become more cohesive and collaborative. While the country boasts nearly 10 million software developers, ecosystem coordination remains a key hurdle.

“The real value of open source is not just code—it’s shared innovation,” Wang said. “When we organize talent effectively, we can build software that competes globally.”

To Wang, open source is not just a tech choice, but a national strategy. He believes China’s robotics industry is at an inflection point—and how it handles software collaboration could determine whether it leads or lags behind globally.

“If we cross the critical mass of 10 million developers using HarmonyOS and M-Robots OS, I believe China will have the best software in the world,” he said.

As robots transition from isolated machines to autonomous agents embedded in the real world, China’s push for an open, collaborative robotics OS could define the next decade of AI-driven automation.