China's top drone maker DJI comes down to earth with launch of robotic cleaner
Chinese drone giant DJI is expected to launch a vacuum cleaning robot in a move set to intensify competition in the country's crowded robotic cleaner market, according to a report by the state-backed financial newspaper China Securities Journal, citing internal sources.
Shenzhen-based DJI will introduce a combination vacuum cleaner and mopping robot this month, a project that has been under development over the past four years, according to the report. The product is called DJI ROMO, according to leaked images of the packaging.
DJI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The move by the world's largest drone maker will see it come up against domestic rivals that have already carved up the local and global market for robotic cleaners. Worldwide shipments in the segment reached 20.6 million units last year, an 11.2 per cent year-on-year increase, according to a report released in March by market consultancy IDC.
Chinese firm Roborock ranked as the No 1 supplier with a 16 per cent global share, followed by US-based iRobot with 13.7 per cent, according to IDC. The other names in the top five were Ecovacs Robotics, Xiaomi and Dreame – all from China.
Employees work on the production line of a robot vacuum cleaner factory in Shenzhen, August 9, 2019. Photo: Reuters
Ecovacs, Roborock and Narwal are the top three suppliers in the mainland China market, which grew 6.7 per cent last year.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong needs route for taxis, ride-hailing firms to co-exist: lawmakers
Hong Kong should find a way to allow the taxi trade and ride-hailing services to compete and complement each other, even though cab owners blame competition from unregulated platforms for lowering the value of their licences, lawmakers have said. Debate on the way forward for the trade followed calls from some industry leaders for the government to buy back their taxi licences for HK$5 million (US$637,100) each, an idea Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu ruled out on Tuesday Owners argue that their licences have consistently depreciated because of the rise of online ride-hailing platforms such as Uber. The number of taxi licences has remained constant at 18,138 since the government stopped issuing them in 1994. However, licences can be transferred and traded, leading some drivers and investors to use them as a form of speculative asset. The price of a licence and a taxi dropped from a record high of HK$7.66 million in 2009 to HK$2.02 million this month, resulting in significant potential financial losses for owners. The value also fell sharply in 2019 as social unrest rocked the city, dropping from HK$6.02 million to HK$4.96 million.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese academy launches automated system to speed up chip design amid US software curbs
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the nation's premier science institution, has unveiled a chip design system driven by artificial intelligence (AI) that has the potential to significantly accelerate semiconductor development and replace human programmers. Developed by the State Key Laboratory of Processor and the Intelligent Software Research Centre, both under CAS, and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the fully automated integrated circuit design system is called QiMeng, which means 'enlightenment' in Chinese. The system uses large language models – the technology underpinning advanced AI chatbots. Details were published in a research paper last week and open-sourced on GitHub. According to the developers, chips designed by QiMeng match the performance and efficiency of those created by human experts. A customised autonomous-driving chip, for example, which might take weeks for a team of human developers to create could be accomplished by QiMeng in just days, according to the team. An overview of the automated chip design system QiMeng. Photo: Handout The unveiling of QiMeng comes as the US has pressured leading electronic design automation (EDA) software suppliers to halt sales of chip design tools to China , further complicating Beijing's goal to strengthen its semiconductor industry. QiMeng comprises three interconnected layers: at the base is a domain-specific large processor chip model; in the middle, a hardware and software design agent; and at the top, various processor chip design applications.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Tencent Music to buy Ximalaya, an audio app used by 300 million users
Tencent Music Entertainment Group , China's largest online music platform by user count, announced on Tuesday its acquisition of audio content platform Ximalaya for about US$2.4 billion in cash and stock. The Tencent Holdings subsidiary will offer US$1.26 billion in cash and up to 5.2 per cent of its total outstanding class A ordinary shares. It will also issue up to 0.37 per cent of its shares to Ximalaya's founding investors. As part of the deal, Ximalaya will restructure certain existing businesses. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, including antitrust reviews. Ximalaya confirmed the merger in a notice, pledging to maintain its brand, operational autonomy, core management team and strategic direction. The company also assured business partners that existing contracts would be honoured and user rights would be protected. Tencent Music is listed in New York and Hong Kong. Photo: Shutterstock 'We believe this partnership will unlock new opportunities for Ximalaya's users, creators, employees, partners and shareholders,' the statement read.
