Gausium (alias Gaussian Robotics, 高仙机器人), a leading domestic commercial cleaning robot manufacturer, is likely to record a revenue of more than 200 million yuan (US$29.12 million) in the first quarter of this year, a senior manager of the company said recently.
In an interview on April 11 with Chinese media, Zhang Yanzhao, vice president of the startup’s subsidiary in Ziyang, a city in southwestern Sichuan province, said the company has witnessed productivity increases with each passing month since its new plant was up and running in December last year.
“In February 2023, we produced 50 units of cleaning robot (here in Ziyang), and another 100 in March,” said Zhang, who is tasked with overseeing the factory’s day-to-day operation.
The factory is the second owned and run by Gausium aside from its main production facility in eastern China’s Zhangjiagang.
Shanghai-headquartered Gausium is one of the world’s earliest robotic startups to dedicate itself to the development of autonomous vacuum cleaning equipment for commercial use.
Founded by Edward Cheng in 2013 out of a passion for autonomous driving. Gausium started as a solutions provider of SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) and integrated robotics software.
Today, Gausium has become a leading company of AI-powered autonomous cleaning and service robots with more than 4,000 successful deployments in 50 countries and regions.
Currently, Gausium’s products and services include commercial floor cleaning robots, indoor delivery robots and supplementary accessories like docking stations, cloud platform and application software.
Its products are now present in application scenarios including hotel, supermarket, wet market, and underground parking lot.
Zhang revealed that the manufacturing hub in Ziyuan will undergo a facelift in July this year, transitioning its production line from manual assembly to automated assembly in a bid to enhance productivity.
According to Gausium, it has launched seven product lines, covering seven functions such as mopping, vacuuming, sweeping and dusting the floors of commercial establishments.
Currently two production lines at the Ziyang plant are dedicated to the manufacturing of Scrubber 75 and Scrubber 50, two mature models that have proved their market appeal.
Gausium’s products now have a growing penetration in scenarios such as the hospitality industry, supermarket, airport terminal, metro station, government hall, and more.
Within the factory, each of Gausium’s robots will need to complete a full-scenario test before being packaged for shipping.
This involves putting the device to work on simulated grounds of various types, with gravel scattering about or sidewalks reserved for the blind.
“Our products feature a high level of intelligence, marked by autonomous driving, infinite run time, self-initiated obstacle detection and avoidance, and more,” said Zhang.
Zhang added that when the robots are running low on battery, they return along self-planned routes to work stations or charging piles, to replenish energy.
This year, Gausium will even release a new model capable of adding and discharging used water on its own.
For this purpose, the firm is pulling out all stops to build its Ziyang production base, which will cost an estimated 1.5 billion yuan to build, into a model of so-called “immersive smart urban sanitation” in western China.
Going forward, Gausium will continue to invest in the second phase of the Ziyang project, scaling production steadily to incorporate all its seven product lines and turning it into an iconic “lighthouse factory.”
