Pudu Robotics sees humanoid robots as its next field, founder and chief executive Felix Zhang Tao told the South China Morning Post in an interview. The Shenzhen company built its business on service robots that sweep hotel floors, clear restaurant tables and carry heavy loads in factories, and now plans general-purpose humanoids and hybrid machines that combine both forms.
Sales outside China make up 80 per cent of Pudu's business, and Europe is its largest market abroad. The company opened a European headquarters in Germany last month, after setting up a US base in Dallas in April. Zhang said Pudu was considering making robots in Europe.
Zhang said Tesla was “definitely a competitor, but a long-term one”. He said Pudu's experience with hardware, its customers and its brand set it apart from companies coming to humanoids from other industries.
He said it would take at least five to 10 years for the technology to mature, and longer still before humanoid robots are widely used.
