Overview of Phase One

The 140th Canton Fair is held in Guangzhou in three phases from October 15 to November 4, 2026 — the 70th anniversary of the fair. Phase One, themed “Advanced Manufacturing,” ran from October 15 to 19 and closed today. Focusing on global procurement hotspots such as new energy, intelligent manufacturing and embodied AI, it showcased 13 categories and 54 sections, including electronics & appliances, industrial manufacturing, vehicles & two-wheelers, and hardware. Seventeen emerging-industry zones were dedicated to service robots, drones, display technology and more.

More than 12,000 companies took part in Phase One, including over 6,000 high-tech, “specialized & sophisticated,” and “single champion” enterprises. Aligned with the “new, green, smart” trend, the “new three” 2.0 — robots and AI — took center stage, with a cluster of frontier products representing new quality productive forces.

Highlight: The Service Robot Zone Goes Viral

This edition dedicated a Service Robot zone bringing together 46 leading companies, with products spanning industrial, commercial and domestic services. Shortly after opening each morning, queues stretched several meters outside the zone, and capacity-control signs were set up — packed with global buyers and livestreaming content creators alike.

Key shift: from “exhibit” to “employee.” Unlike previous editions focused on performance demos, more robots this year are already working in real scenarios: fire-fighting robot dogs entering burning buildings, warehouse sorting robots, exoskeletons helping workers carry loads, and window-cleaning robots scaling skyscrapers — even serving as “smart shop assistants” and guides inside the Canton Fair complex. Buyers’ questions have shifted from “what can it do?” to “what problem can it solve for me?”

Cleaning Robots: Smart New Appliances Become a New Export Engine

From floors to glass facades, from courtyards to underwater pools, service robots are taking over overseas households’ chores. Lingdu Intelligent’s “Feixiaoxia X3” sold over 1,000 units on site with ~US$1 million in intended demand; its glass-cleaning robot uses negative-pressure adhesion to operate above 200 meters, recycling water at just 1/20 of conventional usage — a hit in water-scarce Middle Eastern markets. Pudu Technology showcased smart lawn mowers for Western backyards and golf courses; CVTE’s MAXHUB C3 Plus commercial cleaner serves 1,000–1,500 m² indoor spaces with auto water/drain, charging, dust collection and mop drying, running unattended for weeks and already entering Asia-Pacific and European markets.

Industrial & Special Robots: Real Demand in High-Risk Scenarios

DEEP Robotics showcased quadruped, wheel-legged and humanoid robots covering 46 countries. Its robot dogs now patrol a California warehouse (200% efficiency gain, >95% alert accuracy), run 24/7 inspections at Switzerland’s KKL nuclear plant, and work in an Akita tunnel in Japan — garnering 90+ leads on opening day, especially from Belt & Road buyers. Jiechuang Intelligence’s AI patrol robot-dog netted 70+ inquiries in three days, with strong demand from Latin America (Argentina, Chile). Dynamics Robotics debuted its PhyHand dexterous hand (23 active DOF) and put on humanoid boxing, ping-pong and badminton demos, drawing inquiries from nearly 20 countries in the first two days.

Domestic, Care & Companion Robots

Fubao’s care companion robot monitors blood glucose, heart rate, SpO2, blood pressure and body temperature; its China version pairs an AI doctor with 24/7 human doctors, and the 5th-gen model is exported to 100+ countries. Guangzhou’s Zhidong Future deployed its “Xiaozhi” as a shop assistant at the fair’s official store, taking voice orders, grabbing drinks and guiding visitors. Haier demonstrated its AI housework robot “Haiwa,” which picks up laundry, runs the washer-dryer, and delivers groceries to the fridge for identification and storage.

Deep Dive Case: Coffee Robots — The “Busiest Crew” on Site

After a long day at the fair, what gives buyers an instant energy boost? Often, a cup of robot-brewed coffee. Throughout the venue, coffee robots became the “busiest crew” — each surrounded by queues of global buyers. Six-axis arms deftly grab cups and dispense ingredients while the machine auto-extracts and pours latte art, producing a beautifully crafted cup in under a minute. Many buyers filmed the process or even livestreamed it to friends and colleagues.

Leading Player: Hetun Robotics COFE+

Shanghai-based Hetun Robotics, the world’s fifth coffee-robot startup with eight years of history, has iterated its “COFE+” to the 7th generation. Founder Han Zhaolin says each on-site machine brews 600–800 cups over an 8-hour day, claiming the industry’s fastest speed: 58 seconds for a hand-poured latte, 38 seconds for a cappuccino, and as fast as 28 seconds for an espresso.

COFE+ now sells in 75 countries and 200+ cities, and the company claims a 40–50% global market share. Designed from the outset for 197 countries, it adapts to local tastes, payment, power, telecom, cloud and language systems. With 120 invention patents and 1,200 proprietary process parameters, it has built a “patents + software/hardware + algorithms” moat. On opening day, intended orders were up about 15% versus the spring fair’s first day.

Heritage Brand Expansion: Tri-Brand Smart Coffee Robot Debut

Tri-Brand, owned by Guangzhou Light Industry Group, debuted its smart coffee robot to throngs of overseas buyers. Built on AI IoT with an industrial 6-axis arm, a super-AI system and cloud backend, it serves a cup in as fast as 60 seconds, supports standardized custom recipes and 3D-printed latte art (upload a photo and it prints the image onto the coffee), runs 24/7 unattended in just 2.1 m², and features scheduled UV sterilization and self-cleaning — fitting malls, offices, scenic spots and high-speed rail stations. It marks Tri-Brand’s leap from smart appliances to embodied AI.

Specialized Players: Kuku & Anno Robots

Guangdong Kuku Robotics has deployed in 40+ countries, with on-site output of over 1,000 cups per day. CEO Li Tong says the 6-axis arm, 3D art, proprietary SaaS and “AI store manager” system feed real-world data back into the model, enabling one person to manage 10 machines and cutting labor cost share from 30–50% to under 8%; payback is ~10 months, with daily revenue exceeding ¥5,000 per unit.

First-time exhibitor Anno Robotics (a Shenzhen national-level “little giant”) brought a dual-arm latte-art bar, the world’s first robot latte-art kiosk — winning the Canton Fair Design Innovation Gold Award — plus a cocktail robot.

Coffee Robot Market Outlook：

Stratistics MRC：The global coffee robot market is ~US$700M in 2026, projected to reach US$2.79B by 2034 (CAGR 18.8%).

Drivers: rising service-sector labor costs and shortages; demand for 24/7, contactless service.

China’s per-capita annual coffee consumption rose from 16.7 cups (2023) to 28.6 cups (2025).

Beyond Coffee Robots: The Rise of AI Office Furniture

Coffee robots went viral at the fair not by accident — they put an unmanned, intelligent service node right inside malls, office towers and airports. As such devices move into workplaces, the office itself is being redefined: the workspace of the future is no longer simply “furniture for people,” but a hybrid environment where people, service robots and smart devices work side by side. This trend poses a new product agenda for the office-furniture industry.

From Passive Furniture to Proactive Health Management

AI smart office furniture embeds sensor networks, real-time data and ML models into desks and chairs: they monitor posture, track usage patterns and intervene proactively — prompting you to stand, auto-adjust lumbar support, and generate personalized ergonomic profiles. The goal shifts from “comfortable seating” to “health management and performance optimization through furniture.” Pilot data shows that smart chairs with pressure mapping and adaptive cushions helped ~68% of users report a ~42% reduction in lower-back pain after a 12-month trial.

From Electric Height Adjustment to a “Smart Cockpit”

Height-adjustable desks are no longer just motorized surfaces — they are becoming “smart cockpits” with active perception: mmWave radar, infrared sensors, 60W+ USB-C and wireless charging, employee-profile recognition, auto energy-saving when unoccupied, and seat-utilization logging. Grand View Research projects environment-aware smart desks growing ~35% in 2026; China’s smart sit-desk market is expected to reach ~¥18.5 billion in 2026, up ~12.3% YoY, driven by both new premium office construction and retrofitting.

Furniture as the Data Layer of the Smart Office

Japanese office-furniture maker itoki launched its AI management model in February 2026, positioning furniture as the data-collection layer of smart buildings — desks and chairs report occupancy and usage in sub-15-minute intervals, feeding workplace-management and smart-building platforms. Lenovo’s AI Workmate concept at MWC 2026 (a desk robot with cameras, sensors and projection) signals that the desktop is becoming a new interface where AI hardware merges with furniture. Office furniture is shifting from a “facilities purchase” to a “workplace data entry point.”

Implications for Office Furniture Makers：

 Coffee robots prove strong willingness-to-pay and clear ROI for “robots + commercial space.” Furniture makers can partner with service-robot and in-store-device vendors to shift from “selling desks and chairs” to delivering turnkey smart-office solutions.

Entry points: sensorizing and health-data-enabling desks and chairs; reserving circulation paths and docking/charging spots for service robots; integrating with booking and BMS systems.

Export leverage: with China’s mature supply chain in arms, sensors and AI, furniture makers can package “furniture + robots + AI” smart-office solutions together for overseas markets.

Summary: Phase One of the 140th Canton Fair is not merely a showcase for advanced manufacturing but a proving ground where China’s embodied AI and service robots move from “exhibits” to “products” and from “performances” to “employment.” Commercial service scenarios led by coffee robots — with clear ROI, standardized products and full-lifecycle delivery — are emerging as the most promising hit category for China’s robot exports.

Sources: gov.cn, MOFCOM, Guangdong/Guangzhou government portals, CCTV, Guangming Daily, National Business Daily, Jiemian, Southern Daily, etc.

Images are illustrative for report purposes only.