Haier and STARTER Unveil “Cyber Butler”: The Smartest Robot Appliance Handler!

Haier, in collaboration with Xingdong Era, has officially unveiled “HIVA,” a home-appliance-savvy household robot often dubbed a “cyber butler.”

The unveiling of “HIVA” marks a significant milestone in the strategic partnership established between Haier and Xingdong Era in March. The alliance aims to revolutionize the smart home service robot sector, and HIVA represents a tangible, functional result of this collaborative effort.

Desigend to liberate users from the tedium of household chores, this “cyber butler” packs a serious punch.

Nimble and Powerful: Standing at 165 cm tall and weighing 70 kg, “HIVA” boasts 44 degrees of freedom and an anthropomorphic, streamlined design. This gives the robot impressive maneuverability and user-friendly interaction. Nicknamed the “wasp-waisted wonder” for its slender, A4-paper-width waist, HIVA combines form and function.

The robot’s capabilities extend beyond mere dexterity. Offering a wide range of motion, “HIVA” can effortlessly handle tasks ranging from picking up items from the floor to reaching and cleaning areas over two meters high, catering to an array of household requirements.

Agile Mobility, Appliance Expertise: “HIVA’s” agility is powered by a compact base integrated with 3D LiDAR visual navigation technology. This allows it navigate freely around a home environment, moving between rooms without obstruction.

Equipped with the Xingdong XHAND-Lite (Elf Hand), a five-fingered dexterous hand developed in-house, HIVA can elegantly operate and utilize appliances like Haier’s floor scrubbers, ensuring a spotless living space.

Living Room Scenario – “HIVA” cleans the floor using a Haier cordless floor cleaner.

HIVA can also take charge of cooking tasks utilizing smart cooking equipment. The robot synergizes effectively with Haier washing machines to execute a full suite of laundry operations – washing, ironing, folding, and storing clothing -, dramatically streamlining domestic drudgery.

Laundry Scenario – “HIVA” irons clothes.

Kitchen Scenario – “HIVA” makes coffee.

Bedroom Scenario – “HIVA” organizes and tidies up.

More than just a domestic helper, HIVA infuses daily life with a touch of warmth, leveraging technology to add emotional value for users.

The partnership between Haier and Xingdong Era is poised to significantly impact the home service robot industry. Haier brings to the table its well-established smart home ecosystem, appliance integration capabilities, and brand equity, coupled with long-term investments in robotics research. Xingdong Era, a leader in embodied intelligence technology, complements this with their cutting-edge expertise. The combined strengths will facilitate technological synergy and resource sharing.

Haier is commited to democratizing AI technology, focusing on practical and valuable scenarios for families. The company is accelerating AI tech development, leveraging its UHome model and the Haier Smart Home brain, fusing multimodal perception and interaction to build an integrated smart home and service robot framework. Haier also leans on its expansive network of retail outlets to create distributed data collection and training grounds for its home robots.

With HIVA as a foundational product, the two companies aim to continuously refine the robot’s functionalities and expand its service range within smart homes. The ultimate goal is to transform household management, making robots as common as appliances and guiding the evolution of the smart home service robot industry.