Hong Kong's Hanson Robotics is to roll-out four models of its humanoid robots from its factory to take advantage of demand generated by the pandemic.

With demands on healthcare spiralling and more people stuck at home on their own, the company's service robots - including Sophia who was unveiled in 2016 - are looking to carve out a niche for themselves.

Sophia and others will be launched onto the commercial market in the first half of this year. The robots are programmed with artificial intelligence to serve the consumer, entertainment, service, healthcare and research markets.

Company founder and chief executive David Hanson told Reuters: “The world of COVID-19 is going to need more and more automation to keep people safe.

“Our Sophia and Hanson robots are unique by being so human-like. That can be so useful during these times where people are terribly lonely and socially isolated.”

The company plans to unleash “thousands” of its robots into the various markets it aims to serve in 2021.

As part of its drive it is launching a robot later this year called Grace, developed specifically for the healthcare sector.

Last October, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) said the worldwide sales value of professional service robots increased by 32 per cent to $11.2 billion worldwide, between 2018 and 2019.

It said the pandemic will “further boost the market”.

“We expect sales of both professional and personal service robots will continue to increase strongly,” said Milton Guerry, president of the IFR.

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