According to customs statistics, in the first quarter of this year, China's robot industry accelerated its expansion into overseas markets. The total export value of various separately listed "robots" reached 11.32 billion yuan, and the products were exported to 148 countries and regions around the world. Data shows that currently, the development of China's embodied intelligence industry is in its infancy, but the market size is growing rapidly. With the continuous progress of domestic upstream and downstream industrial chain technology, the humanoid robot industry has entered a new stage driven by both mass production and commercialization. The market size of China's embodied intelligence industry is expected to reach 400 billion yuan by 2030 and is expected to exceed one trillion yuan by 2035. At present, there are over 140 humanoid robot manufacturers in China, with an annual shipment volume of 14400 units, accounting for 84.7% of the global market share. Out of every 10 humanoid robots, 8 are from China.
The relationship between humanoid robots and silicone is very close, and silicone can be said to be the core material that gives robots a "humanoid" appearance and touch. Simply put, silicone mainly plays the role of "biomimetic skin" and "muscle" for robots.
Specifically, the application of silicone in humanoid robots is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Creating a hyper realistic 'biomimetic skin': Silicone is currently the preferred material for creating robotic biomimetic skin due to its non-toxic, odorless, soft, wear-resistant, and chemically stable properties. Touch and Appearance: The industry typically uses imported platinum silicone (a high-end medical grade organic silicone), which can accurately replicate the texture of human skin, even achieving pore level realism. By adjusting the formula of silicone (such as Shore hardness), it is possible to simulate a soft touch similar to real skin or even subcutaneous fat. Application scenarios: Mainly applied to the facial, hand, arm, leg and other parts of robots that require intimate contact with humans. For example, the biomimetic robot that will debut on the 2026 Spring Festival Gala has a lifelike facial expression and skin texture, and its core secret is platinum silicone.
Acting as "flexible muscles" for robots: In addition to serving as skin, the new modified silicone (or elastomer material) is also used to simulate human muscle tissue. Action personification: This material is between rigid materials and ordinary silicone, with a flexible response ability similar to muscles. It can make the robot's movements smoother and more coordinated when walking and grabbing objects, freeing it from the stiffness of traditional metal shell robots. Auxiliary function: The elastic material with a special lattice structure also has better breathability, which helps to dissipate internal heat during long-term operation of the robot.
Carrying the "electronic nerve" (tactile perception): Silicone is not only a layer of "skin" covering the surface, but also an important carrier for integrated sensors. Functional modification: By adding sensing materials, conductive components, or temperature control media to silicone, robots can be endowed with "touch". This allows the robot's skin to sense pressure, temperature, and humidity, achieving precise force control feedback, thereby enabling safer interaction with humans or completing fine operations.
Overall, silicone is a key material for humanoid robots to transition from "machines" to "androids", determining whether the robot looks and feels like a "human".
Observation of the Organic Silicon Market on Tuesday (May 26th): The game between raw rubber and mixed rubber continues, and differentiation is beginning to emerge
Entering this Tuesday (May 26th), the overall silicone market continues to maintain a stable price tone. From the mainstream quotation range of the industrial chain, DMC and 107 glue are stable at 14800-15300 yuan/ton, silicone oil is priced at 16200-16800 yuan/ton, and the core raw material silicon 421 # in the Xinjiang market is stable at 9300-9700 yuan/ton. The current mainstream single enterprise order situation is still acceptable, which provides high support for prices; Although there are maintenance arrangements for some individual units, the upstream raw material prices remain firm, and the downstream is not willing to accept high priced goods. Some enterprises are under pressure on their production profits, and the upstream and downstream have entered the stage of game negotiation.
Supply differentiation of raw rubber, inverted profit sharing transactions
As for the specific types of raw rubber, the mainstream price ranges from 15500 to 16100 yuan/ton, but the actual market operation shows local inverted characteristics. The high price difference of raw rubber between different enterprises reaches 500-1000 yuan/ton, and new orders are mostly negotiated, with sellers offering small discounts and benchmarking prices against leading manufacturers being common. In the medium to long term, the expected increase in volume is relatively clear, but in recent months, due to constraints in shipping cycles and raw material inventory, the actual increase is limited. The direction of the supply and demand pattern in July will gradually become clear only after the completion of equipment maintenance at major factories in Xinjiang in June. In the short term, the supply of low-priced goods is tight, coupled with the continuous depletion of inventory and the support of the 35% emission reduction policy, which provides a basis for stable prices and a slight upward trend.