In 1901, British engineer Hubert Booth manufactured the world's first vacuum cleaner. Unlike in the past when dust was blown out, Booth invented the technique of sucking dust in. But at the beginning, the volume of vacuum cleaners was too large to be convenient for indoor use. After vacuum cleaner production companies gradually improved their technology, in 1908, small electronic vacuum cleaners began to be used by more consumers. Cleaning appliances have officially entered the daily life of consumers.

By 1979, James Dyson had independently developed a new type of cyclone vacuum cleaner. The dual cyclone system he invented is seen as the first major technological breakthrough since the invention of the first vacuum cleaner in 1908, completely solving the problem of clogged air holes in old vacuum cleaners. With this invention, Dyson jumped to become a billionaire.

During the process of developing and upgrading vacuum cleaners, Dyson found that conventional electric motors could not meet their requirements for developing cordless vacuum cleaners. So in 1999, Dyson began to change his mindset and began developing motors. Five years later, Dyson launched the industry-leading high-speed digital motor.

The era still rewards innovators, and for over a decade since then, high-speed digital motors have been Dyson's core technology and an absolute technological barrier.

Until 2017, a group of young people from China spent two years breaking through this technological barrier and achieving a technological breakthrough in China's high-speed digital motors.

This group of young people come from the largest technology platform at Tsinghua University, SkyWorks, and their original research direction was aircraft manufacturing. In 2015, Yu Hao, the founder of "Sky Works", was thinking about whether cutting-edge and cutting-edge technology could be used to improve everyone's lives, in addition to airplanes, and whether it was possible to use aircraft manufacturing technology to conquer motor technology.

So, there is an additional player in the Chinese intelligent cleaning market, sweeping the floor with the spirit of building airplanes, focusing on the intelligent cleaning market, and seeking new global increments brought about by technological innovation.

Why do people who make airplanes go to sweep the floor?

When flying at low altitudes, people on the surface of the earth can see the outline of a large plane with the naked eye. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, Yu Hao would stand outdoors and look up at the planes in the sky in a trance. His infatuation and enthusiasm for airplanes from a young age allowed him to distinguish the model of the plane through its sound and rough outline when flying at low altitudes.

"I want to make the best airplane in the world for China," said young Yu Hao and his uncle.

After entering Tsinghua University to study aerospace, Yu Hao's love for airplanes was given a practical opportunity. In 2009, at the age of only 22, Yu Hao became the first person in the world to create a three rotor unmanned aerial vehicle. During my university years, I also participated in the design of the aerodynamic external rotation of the domestically produced large aircraft C919 with my supervisor.

However, Yu Hao, who was addicted to building airplanes, did not expect that he, who had been exploring the limits of the sky, would one day suddenly turn his gaze from the sky to the ground and decide to "sweep the floor".

How did a person who wants to do cutting-edge technology suddenly research how to sweep the floor?

"In the process of working on these projects, I found that the sky is an unlimited space that allows for unlimited imagination of the future. Therefore, besides airplanes, can we use cutting-edge technology to improve everyone's life?" Yu Hao, who makes airplanes, believes that if we can use the technology of airplanes to make people's lives easier, without having to sweep or mop the floor, it would be quite interesting.

Yu Haosi didn't feel that being a robotic vacuum cleaner was a departure from her previous ambition of building airplanes. "Cleaning is something that everyone is doing, and even a source of arguments in many families." Yu Hao hopes to use "airplane making technology" to sweep the floor, making every consumer and every family happier. Sweeping the floor is a small matter in people's perception, but Yu Hao believes it is a major event in life.

As an engineer building airplanes, Yu Hao didn't initially think about whether to sweep the floor or wash dishes. Initially, he thought about this matter from a technical perspective. At that time, Yu Hao and his classmates from Sky Works were working on motors for drones. Yu Hao discovered that motors were an important source of power for many household appliances, and every advancement in the power system could drive significant progress in many fields.

If high-speed motors can be incorporated into household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, sweepers, and other products, the market will usher in a different scene.

From 20000 rpm to 200000 rpm, self-developed high-speed motors achieve global leadership

At that time, the domestic high-speed digital motor field was lagging behind foreign manufacturers by multiple positions. The high-speed digital motors from foreign manufacturers can reach 100000 revolutions per minute, while most high-speed digital motors in China are still at the level of 20000 revolutions per minute.

The difference in rotational speed between high-speed digital motors of 20000 rpm and 100000 rpm is five times, but in terms of product power, it is another level. "The difference in speed is 5 times, and the difference in conversion to suction can reach 25 times." This is a gap, and for Yu Hao, it is also an opportunity.

Yu Hao began to ponder whether it was possible to improve motor technology using aircraft manufacturing techniques in the face of such a technological gap. In the end, Yu Hao chose to anchor the entrepreneurial breakthrough in high-speed digital motor technology. Dyson is the first goal in pursuing technological challenges.

The ideal is full, but it is very difficult for high-speed digital motor technology to break through from 20000 revolutions per minute to 100000 revolutions per minute in a short period of time.

High speed motors with a speed of over 20000 rpm must be brushless, and the motor needs to have a set of algorithm control. At the same time, its electromagnetism also needs to be redesigned. Upgrading the speed means that new requirements are put forward for the material, process, and machining accuracy of high-speed motors.

Starting from 2015, Yu Hao led some old classmates from Sky Works to focus on tackling high-speed digital motor technology.

At that time, the backwardness of domestic high-speed digital motors was due to the backwardness of the entire industry and supply chain, and some key components were not provided by suppliers.

"When we first started making a 100000 RPM high-speed motor, we had to buy some bearings or other key components from Japan," Yu Hao recalled. Faced with such a predicament, Yu Hao and his team feel that these things should be developed domestically. In 2017, Yu Hao founded Chasing Technology. When the high-speed digital motor technology broke through to 125000 revolutions per minute, Chasing Technology deliberately began to cultivate secondary suppliers.

At that time, the manufacturing supply chain in Suzhou and even in China had sufficient equipment reserves due to undertaking foreign trade processing and manufacturing services. However, due to the fact that R&D technology capabilities are in the hands of others, these suppliers only have manufacturing capabilities.

At this point, the R&D team of Chasing Technology is teaching Chinese suppliers how to make key components for high-speed digital motors. In the technology competition, China's high-speed digital motor supply chain runs forward with this group of former aircraft builders.

By 2020, Zhuimi Technology was striving to exceed 150000 revolutions per minute in the speed of high-speed digital motors, reaching a technological unmanned zone, and every step was a new technological highland. "We made it with Chinese suppliers," Yu Hao was very proud.

This kind of pride is genuine, chasing and leading Chinese suppliers to break through the new technological peak of high-speed digital motors. At present, Zhuimi Technology is the world's first enterprise to exceed 180000 revolutions per minute in high-speed motor speed, and has reserved 200000 revolutions per minute of technology. It is one of the few innovative technology companies in China with the ability to independently develop and produce high-speed digital motors.

However, the significance of this breakthrough and leadership is not only that the technology of pursuing technology has reached global leadership, but also that the maturity of China's high-speed digital motor technology, market, and supply chain has reached global leadership.

This kind of leadership is implicit. Perhaps no one will notice that in the current domestic market, many white label appliances use high-speed digital motors that can reach speeds of over 100000 revolutions per minute, which is the result of China's inclusive manufacturing technology.

In his conversation with Xu Zhiyuan, Yu Hao said, "There are always some people who think and do things in advance for the public, and they have promoted social progress. In a sense, they may be recorded in the history of human civilization, and I am full of longing for them." Attributing Yu Hao to these people may be a bit exaggerated, but their value lies in the history of China's manufacturing and development.

Core technology is the foundation of everything. The globalization opportunity for Chinese technology brands

The intelligent cleaning track where Chase Technology is located currently has a large number of participants. In addition to emerging independent brands like Chase Technology, traditional home appliance manufacturers and even foreign giants are competing among them. This situation has only emerged in recent years. Prior to this, many brands had been quietly cultivating in the international OEM market for many years.

Behind it lies the source of market supply and demand. On the one hand, influenced by lifestyle, the overseas penetration rate of the clean electrical appliance market is relatively high, and there is a large amount of market demand; On the other hand, there is a certain gap between the research and development technology of core components of early domestic brands and international brands.

Vacuum cleaners are an old brand product in the cleaning appliance market. Research data shows that its penetration rate in major developed countries has exceeded 90%. According to data from Liding Industry Research Network, the global retail sales of vacuum cleaners reached 148 million units in 2021, and the traditional vacuum cleaner markets in major overseas countries have become more mature.

In recent years, there have been two major factors contributing to the formation of a new situation. The first is the upgrading and innovative breakthroughs of China's manufacturing supply chain. Chasing Technology has led Chinese suppliers to achieve a technological breakthrough of 150000 revolutions per minute in high-speed digital motors, which is a typical representative of China's supply chain upgrading. Guo Renjie, Deputy General Manager of Chasing Technology in China, once said that foreign manufacturers need to go to Suzhou to find a matching supply chain when catching up with China's high-speed digital motor speed. For domestic brands, this is also a good thing for those who are close to the water and have a better reputation.

Another factor is that domestic manufacturers have begun to focus on the accumulation of core technology and product innovation, as Yu Hao said, "Core technology is the foundation of everything.". The positive cycle of brand accumulation brought by research and development and technology is a business logic that Yu Hao firmly believes in.

In the past, American companies focused on research and development, Chinese companies focused on manufacturing, and European companies focused on design. However, after decades of accumulation, Chinese companies are improving their research and development capabilities, optimizing the performance of core technologies, and enhancing their strong supply chain, global sales channel construction, and brand building capabilities.

Yu Hao believes that the way the world operates is undergoing new changes, and in the future, the world will definitely form a pattern of global resources, Chinese research and development, local manufacturing, and global consumption. This pattern is the best globalization opportunity for Chinese emerging technology brands.

At present, Chinese brands are gradually catching up with other international brands in the global intelligent cleaning market. In 2022, despite significant pressure both domestically and internationally, Chasing Technology's performance in the overseas market remains impressive, with a year-on-year growth of nearly 60%. Among them, the Russian speaking region saw growth of over 350%, Southeast Asia saw growth of over 450%, Nordic Europe saw growth of over 700%, and Western Europe saw growth of over 150%.

Behind the achievements is the pursuit of technology and the hard work of technological research and development. Yu Hao revealed that in the past six years, the R&D investment of Chasing Technology has been several times that of its peers, with 70% of its employees being technical personnel and R&D expenses accounting for over 10%.

Currently, the product iteration and technological innovation of intelligent cleaning appliances are still ongoing. To some extent, Yu Hao believes that the sweeping robot is very close to the autonomous vehicle and has its own environmental recognition ability. The whole cleaning mode has undergone tremendous changes from the past.

During this process, enterprises are still continuously developing and producing many new technologies and algorithms. These technologies and algorithms may also have the same technological significance as Yu Hao's aircraft manufacturing in the future, and can achieve technological compounding in other fields.

"I think one day in the future, we can also use robotic vacuum cleaners to accumulate technology and make airplanes. I think this is completely similar." Although the vacuum cleaner is small, Yu Hao's goal in his heart is still ambitious. "We hope to lead humanity towards progress, and I hope to turn us into a world-class technology enterprise that constantly seeks and grows. The most important thing is to have a group of world-class engineers, which is a very important foundation."