SHANGHAI, March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 6, in advance of its appearance at the 2018 Appliances & Electronics World Expo (2018 AWE) in Shanghai, Haier, the world's No.1 Major Appliances brand, holds a conference to discuss its Smart Home-Service Robot Strategy 1.0 and officially announces its entrance into the service robot field (the "Conference"). At this Conference, Haier and Soft Bank Robotics Group Corp. (SBRG) reach a strategic partnership. The two sides will join hands to explore the service robot market in China's smart store and smart home fields, starting with SBRG's humanoid robot 'Pepper'. Also the two parties will jointly develop special version of Pepper for Smart Store &Smart Home which is based on U+OS, an open system developed by Haier.

'Pepper', SBRG's humanoid robot, is the first robot to be integrated into Haier smart home platform. Possessing a human-like appearance, it can be linked with a variety of smart appliances and equipment. Its unique active and emotional interaction will improve human-machine communication. For example, Pepper can act as a butler, coordinating all Haier smart appliances in the home, optimizing them based on each family's preferences. In the next 5 years, Haier aims to develop its service robot division into an independent unit, becoming a leader in the domestic robotics industry. Haier has already made preparations at the channel, service and product levels to vigorously promote the popularization of smart homes and the partnership with SBRG will enhance the strategies of both sides.

"The service robot is a natural extension and an effective complement to Haier's smart home strategy," said Wang Ye, Vice President of Haier Home Appliance Industry Group and General Manager of Advanced Innovation Center. "Haier will continue to improve the features and functions available to consumers from service robots within smart homes and accelerate the development of the industry."

Wang continued, "Furthermore, the cooperation between SBRG and Haier will allow both companies to explore new ways that robots can be used in both domestic and commercial settings."

About Haier

Haier, the world's No.1 Major Appliances brand with a 10.5% volume market share. (Source: Euromonitor International Limited; volume sales in units based on 2017 data). Currently, the Group's brands include Haier, Casarte, Leader from PRC, GE Appliances from U.S, AQUA from Japan, Fisher & Paykel from New Zealand. Each brand has its own market position and provides smart home experiences for users. Haier Group boasts 66 trading companies, 10 R&D Centers, 108 manufacturing bases and 24 innovative industrial parks with more than 73,000 employees across the world. Haier Group builds a global selling network comprised of 143,300 sales outlets spanning more than 160 countries. The Haier Group's global revenues of 2017 were 241.9 billion RMB, with year-on-year growth of 20%. Haier is today the world's leading brand of major household appliances and is now transforming from a traditional manufacturer to an open entrepreneurship platform. Haier will extend its ecosystem to social networks and community economies while building the smart home ecosystem, continuously enhancing the user value of Haier products and services, to provide interconnect smart home experiences and qualitied products globally. For more information, visit: http://www.haier.net/en/

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SOURCE Haier