CHINESE buyers of Australian real estate have been offered a new way to compete for property sales without having to struggle with the language barrier. And on the surface it sounds like pure science-fiction.

Instead of dealing directly with estate agents Chinese buyers will now be able to communicate with an advanced, Mandarin-speaking “AI” robot that stands 1.4m tall and has been designed to be friendly and approachable.

You read that correctly. A robot.

Chinese real estate website Juwai.com partnered with Macau-based service robot company Singou Technology to build the product.

The ‘Butler 1’ robot will be loaded with real estate data and have technology that allows real estate agents who don’t speak Mandarin to be able to assist potential Chinese buyers.

Juwai CEO Carrie Law said the service would provide better service to Chinese international property buyers.

“The robot is essentially a carrier that lets our AI consumer service engine be present in real estate sales offices anywhere in the world.”

Singou Technology chief executive Hon Chi Tin said robots were well suited to real estate sales.

“A robot is superior to a fixed device, smart speaker or smart furniture. A robot has all the same benefits, plus the great advantage of being able to move and approach people just like another person,” Dr Hon said.

The first robot will be in Australia within a month, with Juwai.com expecting a few hundred to be in operation by the end of 2019.

China has been developing into a world leader in robot technology.

Between 2010 and 2015 it installed about 90,000 industrial robots — roughly one third of the world’s total and more than the US, Europe and the rest of Asia combined, according to Machine Design Magazine.

Most of the 160,000 robots expected to be rolled out in coming years will be used in factories, but service robots like Butler 1 are being built in greater quantities.