Automation taking over human labor has marked an unstoppable global trend. Rescue services stand out as an example among the industries that are least likely to be threatened by this shift.

Tao Xiaoyang, a Blue Sky Rescue team specialist clad in his iconic blue uniform, was meticulously questioning the technical specs of an underwater robot at a booth on the opening day of an emergency management exhibition.

Frontline emergency responders like him were displaying a heightened interest in robotics at the China International Emergency Management Exhibition (CIEME) in the China National Convention Center, which kicked off on Wednesday.

The event is bustling with the latest in rescue vehicles, drones, and telecom guarantees. Although rescue robots are the newcomers, occupying a modest space at the three-day fair, they stole the spotlight immediately.

The machine that impressed Tao was a 60-centimeter-long robot with a mechanical hand capable of diving to 200 meters and integrating with sonar technology. Yet, its 100-kilogram towing capacity service seemingly left something to be desired to him.

"The machine can tow twice the weight underwater thanks to water's buoyancy," explained Zhang Xianjie, the sales manager of QYSea, a Shenzhen-based startup. Zhang attempted to persuade Tao, but all the while, his assistant was remotely operating a red robotic drone in a water tank using a console.

This compact, portable electric drone, weighing just 6 kilograms, is designed to resist currents of up to 3 knots and can operate underwater for 4 hours, according to Zhang.

Now, firefighting corps in the Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Guizhou have already deployed the drones in real-life scenarios, including underwater positioning, recovery of drowned bodies, and sonar search for sunken ships, he added.

Emergency robots are intelligent machine systems that perform tasks such as monitoring and early warning, search and rescue, communication commands and logistical support during disaster prevention, mitigation and relief.

They are capable of semi-autonomous or fully autonomous control, partially or completely replacing human work. They have already demonstrated their prowess in emergencies such as fires, mining or chemical plant accidents, earthquakes, and underwater rescues.

A 2023 estimate has shown that the scale of the emergency equipment industry in China has exceeded 700 billion yuan (about 97 billion U.S. dollars). The emergency robotics sector is projected to be worth around 20 billion yuan, marking an average annual growth rate of over 20 percent during the past five years.

At this year's CIEME, with over 150 exhibitors, many regional emergency departments placed direct orders to bolster their emergency response capabilities.

Wang Guangya, a manager from Xuzhou-based XCMG DOK-ING Robotics, was tasked with recommending a robot designed to carve out isolation zones for combating forest fires. He was thrilled to have secured an order for 20 units from the country's eastern province of Jiangxi on the very first day of the expo.

This remotely operated tracking robot can cut down tree trunks and vegetation, effectively confining wildfires to a specific area. The vehicle is versatile and can be deployed for municipal snow clearance operations.

It can travel at a pace of 5 kilometers per hour and is designed for continuous operations exceeding 10 hours, according to Wang.

At another booth, Yunzhou, a Zhuhai-based robot manufacturer, showcased a water surface robot called Dolphin, capable of carrying rescue personnel or individuals who have fallen into the water. This robotic kayak has already achieved remarkable results, said its sales director, He Qionghui, with pride.

In 2023, police officers in the eastern city of Lianyungang used a water-borne robot to rescue an elderly man who had fallen into the sea. In 2022, a 15-year-old boy was saved in the eastern city of Weihai thanks to a Dolphin robot, according to He.

Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based company, has brought its star product, the machine dog, to the exhibition site. The robot dogs that went viral online after being spotted moving up and down the steps on Mount Tai to free human porters from the longstanding challenge of garbage removal are also highly effective in firefighting situations.

In January, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology outlined in guidance that by 2025, a batch of advanced emergency robots will be developed in the country to significantly enhance scientific, professional, refined and intelligent capabilities.

"In China, the robotics sector has already been highly competitive," said He. "To differentiate yourself, you must find specific application scenarios and outperform rivals in quality."