- Zhejiang humanoid robot center to supply robots for fabric handling and sewing
- Deal marks first large-scale humanoid deployment in global garment industry
Jack Technology (杰克科技) and Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center (浙江人形机器人创新中心) have signed a deal in early May to deploy 2,000 humanoid robots in apparel manufacturing, marking the first large-scale robot rollout in the global garment sector.
Chinese news portal Science and Technology Daily reported on May 9 that the partners plan to scale the deployment toward a million-unit cluster, company officials said at an industry summit on Apirl 30.
The deal is part of a broader strategic push by Jack Technology, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of sewing machines.
In recent years, the Taizhou-based company has been accelerating its transition from a legacy sewing machine maker to a pioneer of advanced manufacturing.
Riding the waves of AI and robotics, Jack has planned to set up a new headquarters along with a humanoid robot R&D and manufacturing base in Hangzhou’s Linping Distrct. Construction is underway, The Yangtzeer reported previously.
On April 30, Aitu Intelligent Sewing Technology Co., a subsidiary of Jack Technology, formed a joint venture with the Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center and signed a strategic agreement to advance robot development for apparel applications.
On May 7, the company entered a second joint venture with Agibot (智元机器人) and reached a similar agreement.
“The focus is tackling high-precision automation for flexible fabrics—a world-class challenge for the apparel industry,” a Jack Technology representative said then.
The Naviai, the flagship robot model developed by Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, is ablel to handle folding, fabric manipulation, and feeding tasks with stability, achieving success rates above industry averages for flexible fabric operations, the newspaper reported.
Nonetheless, it did not provide any details validating the success rates of the Naviai robot in performing fabric-related tasks.
The robots are reportedly designed for high-response control and precision within ±2mm, addressing the limits of traditional automation in small-batch, fast-turn, multi-style garment production.
Jack Technology, whose first-quarter revenue rose 12.9% to 2.023 billion yuan ($297.66 million) and net profit grew 4.5% to 257 million yuan, said the deal is part of its broader strategy to integrate robotics into flexible manufacturing.
