AgiBot proposed a new unit for measuring the actual contributions of robots at work during its 2026 Innovation Day in Shanghai on 29 October.
Peng Zhihui defined the new metric, known as Worken, or effective intelligent work hours, as the product of active robots, autonomous working hours, and an output-efficiency ratio. Zhihui stated that uptime does not equate to value, noting that a robot powered on for eight hours does not necessarily generate eight hours of value.
Customers ultimately ask whether they can afford to keep a robot running rather than just whether the machine can be built, Zhihui said. At a Longcheer factory, eight robots loading and unloading on a production line worked 528 hours to produce 2,956.8 Worken.
Guangzhou Metro deployed 120 robots to guide passengers through security, which worked 240 hours for 14,400 Worken. AgiBot deployed more than 300 robots at over 100 spots in the Chimelong Spaceship park in Hengqin during September.
Nearly 500 robots now run routinely at the Chimelong Spaceship park, with AgiBot planning to reach 1,000 robots there by the end of the year. Wang Chuang said that almost every robot required its own engineer at the start of operations.
The ratio of robots to engineers has since improved from 1 to 1 to 3 to 1, Chuang said. Chuang stated the target ratio of robots to engineers is 10 to 1 by the end of this year, moving to 20 to 1 next year.
At a 20 to 1 ratio, Chuang claimed a customer would only need about 5 percent more staff budget for that role. Chuang noted that the new WITA-OMNI interaction model still requires work regarding consistency and stability across large fleets.
Yao Maoqing said that having more than 10,000 robots working stably over the long term in Chinese factories would represent a key industry milestone.
