Smart Technologies Limited has become PUDU Robotics’ authorised partner in Malta, bringing the Chinese firm’s service and cleaning robots to the island’s hospitality sector. The arrangement puts Smart Technologies in place to help hotels and restaurants work out where robotics can take on everyday tasks, lift efficiency and support their staff.

Manuel Aquilina, Chief Operating Officer at Smart Technologies, said the point was not a novelty on the restaurant floor. Robotics, he explained, is not simply about placing a robot on the restaurant floor, but about identifying where businesses are spending time and resources on repetitive tasks and where technology can help. By taking on some of these activities, he said, robots can allow hospitality teams to spend more time with guests and focus on delivering the service that matters.

The deal lands as the use of robots in hospitality draws more attention in Malta. Malta Chamber of Commerce President William Spiteri Bailey has pointed to robot waiters as one way of easing the industry’s reliance on foreign labour. Smart Technologies argues the opportunity runs wider than that single use.

PUDU’s range covers more than table service. Its line-up includes the MT1 Max for large-area sweeping, the CC1 Pro for all-in-one autonomous cleaning, the BG1 Series for heavy-duty scrubbing, the BellaBot for service and customer engagement and the T300 for autonomous material transport.

The Malta agreement comes as PUDU Robotics expands across Europe, reporting 60% annual growth and a presence in more than 20 countries. On 4th November it opened its European headquarters in Neuss, Germany, bringing sales, product demonstrations, training, warehousing and after-sales services under one roof. A day later, at its first European Partner Summit in Amsterdam, it set out its “One Brain, Multiple Embodiments” strategy. Founder and chief executive Felix Zhang said the next stage of growth would depend “not only on advancing robot capabilities but also on making robots easier to deploy, more adaptable and commercially viable at scale”.

Smart Technologies and the Malta Chamber signed an alliance agreement in October aimed at advancing digital transformation and business resilience.