(Yicai) Aug. 22 -- RoboSense Technology and Hesai Technology, two leading Chinese makers of light detection and ranging sensors, have reported a triple-digit surge in robot product sales last quarter, with the segment starting to replace the advanced driver assistance systems as the main growth driver.

RoboSense's sales of lidar sensors used in robots and other areas surged 632 percent to 34,400 units in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier, according to its financial report released yesterday. Its ADAS-related products still made up most of its sales with 123,800 units, but rose only 4.6 percent year on year.

In addition, RoboSense's revenue from robotics and other businesses topped CNY147 million (USD20.5 million), equivalent to 54 percent of its income from the ADAS division, the Shenzhen-based company noted.

Hesai's ADAS lidar deliveries soared 276 percent to 300,000 units, but its robotics business also grew faster, with relevant shipments skyrocketing 744 percent to 49,000 units, it said in its second-quarter earnings report.

Shipments in the robot lidar market will likely reach between 300,000 and 400,000 units this year, said Liu Xingwei, vice president of Hesai's robotics perception division.

The shift from ADAS to robots is partly because some carmakers, such as Tesla, are moving to pure vision solutions, opting not to equip lidar sensors on certain models. In addition, lidar manufacturers are starting to focus on the Robotaxi market while seeking incremental growth in the rapidly expanding robotics sector.

Lawn mowing robot and logistics robot makers have become customers of lidar manufacturers, with the size of the former's global market reaching tens of millions of Chinese yuan, equivalent to millions of US dollars, an industry insider told Yicai. Lawn mowing robots fall under the yard robots category, which also includes pool cleaning robots, mainly targeting overseas markets, the person said.

RoboSense's major lawn mowing robot clients include KUMO Tech, with the pair previously inking a deal for 1.2 million lidar sensors over three years. In April, Hesai agreed to supply 300,000 units of its JT lidar series for Dreame Technology's lawn mowing robots.

The large-scale commercial potential of the consumer-grade yard robot market has been validated, Qiunchao Qiu, chief executive of RoboSense, said at an earnings conference call. The firm is collaborating with California-based Coco Robotics, two other leading autonomous delivery platforms, and Meituan, Neolix, and White Rhino in China, Qiunchao noted.

In addition, some lidar sensors have already been applied to humanoid robots and robot dogs, although relevant orders have not yet surged. In embodied intelligence, RoboSense has teamed up with more than 20 companies, including Unitree Robotics and Dobot Robotics, while Hesai has also linked arms with Unitree.

Editor: Martin Kadiev