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Software connection: US firm opens doors for global adoption of China’s humanoid robots
OpenMind works with several Chinese robotics companies including Unitree, UBTech, AgiBot and Engine AI
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US software company OpenMind, according to founder and CEO Jan Liphardt, caused a commotion last year at a park in San Francisco where the firm shot a promotional video.
“A crowd of people came, children came running, cars stopped and the police came,” he said, because “there was a robot in the park”.
In an interview, Liphardt told the South China Morning Post that such a scenario would have been treated differently on the other side of the world. “If a [Unitree] G1 walked across the street in Shanghai, people do not stop. They’ve seen this before.”
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That contrast highlighted the opportunity for OpenMind – developer of the OM1 open-source and artificial intelligence-native operating system for robots – to serve as a bridge to the rest of the world for China’s humanoid robot makers.
China is “unquestionably ahead” of the US in robotics hardware, according to Liphardt, citing its mature integrated supply chain and intense domestic competition.
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He said OpenMind already worked with several Chinese companies – including Unitree Robotics, UBTech Robotics, AgiBot, LimX Dynamics, Booster Robotics and Engine AI – as these firms turned their attention to overseas markets.
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