2020 · Breakthrough: Perception First, Defining a New Paradigm
As the new energy wave swept the globe, Startway Technology, starting with "all-dimensional perception," pioneered the exploration of the possibilities of mobile charging robots. At that stage, the industry's vision for mobile charging robots was mostly at the conceptual level, but Startway Technology had already bravely taken the first step. After countless trials and optimizations, the company's R&D team finally completed the testing of the initial product and achieved success. This success, seemingly simple, laid a solid foundation for subsequent technological development, like a beacon in the darkness, guiding Startway Technology's future direction.
2021 · Breakthrough: Industrial-grade precision, rewriting the rules of the game
The birth of the first-generation intelligent charging robot Satorob and its energy storage module Sator Cube marks the transition of mobile charging technology from concept to reality. This product integrates several cutting-edge technologies, including L4 low-speed autonomous driving, mobile charging, visual guidance, automatic charging, and multi-sensor fusion positioning.
Satorob can respond to car owners' calls in various scenarios, such as parking lots, and autonomously drive to vehicles requesting charging. Equipped with the Sator Cube energy storage unit, it can automatically provide charging services to electric vehicles. Furthermore, Satorob features a design that separates the energy module from the service module; one Satorob can be paired with multiple Sator Cubes to continuously provide charging services to multiple new energy vehicles, significantly improving charging efficiency and equipment utilization.
It's important to understand that charging cables are typically quite heavy, and achieving precise insertion and removal requires extremely high precision and strength control from the robotic arm. However, the R&D team at Shitu Technology, through their deep technological expertise and relentless efforts, has successfully overcome this challenge. Taking the automated insertion and removal of electric vehicle charging cables as an example, the robot can accurately locate the vehicle's charging port and then precisely insert the charging gun into the port using its robotic arm—the entire process is seamless.
Scenario Revolution: L4-level autonomous driving and multi-sensor fusion positioning technology enable robots to autonomously navigate parking lots and collaborate with other robots to form a "one-machine-multiple-chargers" energy network. This model is an extension of the "modular design" in the field of smart hardware, highlighting both deep cultivation of vertical scenarios and responding to the industry's pursuit of flexible solutions.
Uniqueness: The first fully automated charging solution implemented in a real-world scenario, providing a closed-loop service for the last mile of new energy vehicle charging, bridging the gap between fixed charging stations and manual services.
2022-2023 · Evolution: Ecological Collaboration, Empowering Industries
The dual pursuit of technology and application scenarios has driven Shitu to collaborate with companies like Hyundai and Xiaomi, embedding mobile charging into the smart city ecosystem. Through upgrades to real-time sensing algorithms, the system's response speed has increased by 300%, and it is compatible with 800V high-voltage fast charging, seamlessly connecting with models from Tesla, XPeng, and others. This development trajectory reflects the common path of Chinese technology companies moving from single-point breakthroughs to ecosystem co-construction—whether it's energy robots or humanoid intelligent agents, cross-industry integration is becoming a catalyst for technology implementation.
2024 · Symbiosis: Technological Advancement, Defining the Future
With the deep integration of mobile charging and storage robots and robotic arms, the strategic cooperation between Shitu and Voyah Automobile has opened up new scenarios for high-end customized services. The deep integration of the robotic arm and energy storage module enables the product to possess both charging and emergency power supply capabilities, covering high-value areas such as roadside assistance and fast charging in commercial districts. This dual-drive approach of "hardware reconstruction + scenario innovation" resonates with the "embodied intelligence" development trend in the robotics industry: as quadruped robots overcome terrain limitations and humanoid robots explore general capabilities, Shitu, using energy as a fulcrum, is reshaping the boundaries of human-machine collaboration.
It is worth mentioning that among all mobile charging robots currently available, only Shitu Technology has achieved deep integration of mobile charging and storage robots and robotic arms.
Technological Breakthrough: From Impossible to Unique
The industry is generally limited by the weight and insertion/removal precision of charging cables. However, Startro, with its six-axis robotic arm's flexible control and anti-interference vision system, achieves millimeter-level positioning in complex environments, becoming the only fully automated solution to be deployed on a large scale. Behind this achievement lies a dedication to "ultimate reliability"—just as leading robotics companies replace hydraulic systems with electric drives and overcome cost constraints with self-developed core components, Startro, with its full-stack technology loop, defines a benchmark in its vertical industry.
