Chinese electric appliance manufacturer Midea has announced that it will deploy its own humanoid robotics at a washing machines factory in Jingzhou, Hubei Province next month to support machine operation, equipment inspections and material handling. The robots will be used in offline retail stores to assist customers and prepare coffee, starting in the second half this year. Midea will focus on improving its humanoid robotic products this year to address challenges such as battery life and data collection. The company is also focusing on simulations, joint lightweighting, and simulations. Xi said that it may take three to five more years before humanoid robotics are fully industrialized.[Jiemian (in Chinese)