(Yicai Global) March 3 -- IFlytek, a Chinese developer of artificial intelligence technology, said it will release new robots with high-end hardware and cloud and chip software this year.

IFlytek also plans to launch exoskeleton and home service robots in the future, the Hefei-based company announced yesterday.

Last year, iFlytek introduced a three-phased product release plan that will wind up by 2030. The first phase, which ends this year, includes interactive companion pets, realistic bionic robot dogs, and a series of virtual humans with professional orientations.

In phase two, which spans 2023 to 2025, the firm aims to bring out walking exoskeleton robots and companion virtual humans. During the last stage, it will debut self-learning smart companion robots and self-learning virtual humans.

IFlytek’s market share and popularity in the field of AI learning machines is growing, it said. The technology's market penetration in China was less than 3 percent in 2021, but it will continue to grow, the firm noted based on data from market researcher IDC and China's education ministry.

IFlytek previously released its first independently developed robot dog and Super Brain platform products. It launched the AI learning machine T20Pro on Feb. 6, notching up the highest sales of all new products in the field last month.

Editors: Shi Yi, Martin Kadiev