Ant Group's Robot Pharmacy Selected as WAIC 'Treasure of the Exhibition'
The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) is set to commence on July 17th in Shanghai. Recently, the 'Treasure of the Exhibition,' the highest honor for the conference's exhibition segment, was announced. Ant Group's embodiment intelligence company, Ant Lingbo, in collaboration with Guoda Drugstore, had its 'Robot Smart Pharmacy' successfully selected for this prestigious recognition. This smart pharmacy is built upon Ant Lingbo's cross-embodiment foundation model, which follows a 'embodiment-native' technological path. A key technological highlight is its 'one brain, multiple machines' capability. Ant Lingbo's 'universal brain' can control various robots, generating appropriate actions based on their individual structures and movement capabilities to collaboratively manage order fulfillment, medication retrieval, and delivery. This innovative solution is already operational at a Guoda Drugstore location in Shanghai.
The selection of Ant Lingbo's 'Robot Smart Pharmacy' for the WAIC's 'Treasure of the Exhibition' highlights a significant advancement in applied embodiment intelligence. The 'one brain, multiple machines' architecture, capable of controlling diverse robotic forms through a unified 'universal brain,' represents a potential paradigm shift in robotics automation. This approach could lead to more flexible and scalable robotic systems across various industries, reducing the need for specialized programming for each robot type. The successful deployment in a real-world pharmacy setting demonstrates the practical viability of this technology. Looking ahead, the integration of such sophisticated AI control systems into everyday services raises questions about workforce adaptation, cybersecurity for interconnected robotic agents, and the ethical considerations of autonomous operations in public-facing environments.
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