Chinese startup Pudu Robotics wants you to put its latest robot to work. The company's new humanoid D9 stands 5.57 ft (1.7 m) tall, can walk upright and carry loads up to 44 lb (20 kg) – and it's "born to serve."
Serve how exactly? Pudu's press release doesn't go into a lot of detail, but mentions how the D9 can perform "ground cleaning tasks using the Pudu SH1," which is an upright floor scrubber and dryer for commercial spaces. It also includes renders of the robot carrying boxes through a warehouse, and stocking shelves in a department store.
In September, the company unveiled the semi-humanoid D7 robot, which operated on wheels. That model was designed for tasks like "handling component sorting in industrial settings, serving and clearing tables in restaurants, and autonomously operating elevators in office buildings." It's safe to assume the newer D9 can handle all of those and then some.
At a walking speed of 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h), the D9 can move a bit faster than the average human on a stroll. It can also handle stairs and slopes, and use high-accuracy sensors for "real-time 3D semantic mapping" of its surroundings to figure out where it is and plot routes autonomously.
Oh, and it can handle being kicked off balance too – similar to what we've seen in infamous clips featuring Boston Dynamics' creations.
With its numerous joints, the D9 has 42 degrees of freedom. It's also fitted out with dexterous hands to expand its capabilities to more delicate tasks, like handling small items with both mitts.
But there are more interesting things on offer too. "Through a sophisticated processing framework that integrates advanced AI models, the D9 achieves human-level multimodal natural interactions, significantly enhancing the quality and responsiveness of the services it provides," reads the press release.
That's followed by a render of the bot demoing a car to a human on an exhibition floor. If Pudu is implying that the D9 could potentially talk you into buying your next car, that'd be a mean feat indeed.
The Shenzhen-based firm has been in the business of making simpler robots for commercial cleaning applications, no-contact food delivery in restaurants and hotels, and moving cargo around in warehouses. It's already shipped 80,000 of those machines in 60 countries.
Pudu has raised a total of US$192 million across eight rounds over the last few years, with Beijing-based food delivery service Meituan involved in multiple rounds. Some of that has gone towards building a major factory in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.
With that, Pudu could soon find itself in competition with the likes of Tesla and Unitree. It hasn't said what the D9 will cost. However, given that Unitree's G1 is priced at $16,000, and Elon Musk has promised the Tesla Optimus will come in at somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000, it's possible that Pudu will look for a sweet spot in that ballpark.
It's worth noting that the D9 is taller, more dexterous, and capable of nearly thrice the joint torque of the G1 – but we don't yet know know anything about its battery capacity, charging time, and limitations.
We'll have to wait and see how demand, production scale, capabilities, and the cost of engineering these higher specs figure in Pudu's pricing. The company is now accepting inquiries for the D9 through its website, so businesses can line up to finally start getting rid of all that pesky manpower.
Source: Pudu Robotics
