Simi Wang, global director of sales at Keenon Robotics, discusses how service robots can support pandemic response and how COVID-19 may accelerate automation, with ARC analyst Anju.
Wang says Keenon makes service robots for hospitality, hospitals, elder care, shopping malls, and casinos. They guide people and deliver food, packages, and supplies. The company began in 2010 and grew from 30 employees to 250 by the time of the discussion.
Wang says robots can reduce person-to-person contact by delivering groceries, food, and hospital supplies. After restaurants reopened in China, delivery robots brought dishes to diners to limit contact and support food hygiene. She expects the pandemic to increase interest in automation, especially in sectors facing staff shortages and high turnover.
After hospitals reported difficulty delivering food, sanitary products, and documents to patients, Keenon adapted its T1 delivery robot by replacing its trays with a chemical sprayer. Wang says the company later developed a model that combines UV and chemical disinfection. She describes the product as a response to demand from hospitals.
Wang says Keenon develops its navigation and obstacle-avoidance technology in-house, while sourcing some hardware. She claims the robot can return to a recorded position with less than one centimeter of difference. Keenon focuses on indoor delivery and guiding robots for crowded places, rather than industrial robots designed for heavier loads or difficult environments.
Wang says shipping delays and difficulties in hospitality affected Keenon during the pandemic. She recommends supporting struggling customer industries and shifting business development online as events and trade fairs stop. She expects restaurants to consider automation for risk reduction and describes Keenon robots delivering food at Burger King and Chinese chains through a partnership with Meituan.
Briefs summarise talks and interviews; timestamps open the video at that moment. Claims in a talk are the speaker's own.
X-Man, Keenon Robotics’ virtual guide, presents the company’s humanoid robots at WAIC 2026, including demonstrations created with Nowa Coffee and modeled on Park Inn by Radisson hotel operations.
A Crystal field report from the World AI Conference in Shanghai covers Keenon Robotics’ humanoid laundry robot and the company’s overseas markets.
PRO ROBOTS’ presenter reviews humanoid robots and AI systems showcased at WAIC 2026 in China, including demonstrations from AGIBOT, Fourier Intelligence, No Matrix, and others.
