SenseTime, the Chinese artificial-intelligence (AI) company struggling under US sanctions, has launched a robot that can play the ancient strategy board game Go, as it continues to seek revenue from consumers.

SenseRobot, which is in the company’s consumer product line-up, is designed to play the abstract Chinese board game, also known as Weiqi. Equipped with a robotic arm, a display screen and a board, the robot can cover a wide range of abilities from entry-level to professional level, according to a company release on Wednesday.

The robot is priced at 3,799 yuan for pre-sale orders, and a premium version, which includes a case and a power bank for players on the move, is priced at 4,999 yuan .

SenseTime tested the waters in its consumer-facing business last August when it launched an AI robot that can play Chinese chess, or Xiangqi, priced as low as 2,149 yuan . The company has not disclosed the sales performance of the product but said it is the top-seller among similar items in this year’s 618 Shopping Festival.

While the company’s total revenue shrank 19% in 2022 to 3.8bil yuan , with a hefty loss of 6bil yuan , its Smart Life business revenue - where its consumer products are developed - surged 130% year on year to nearly 1bil yuan , or about a quarter of the total.

Go, where two players aim to surround more territory than the opponent with black or white pieces, has been a popular space for big tech companies to test the potential of their AI. Alpha Go, an AI program developed by Google-owned DeepMind, became the first computer program to defeat a human Go world champion in 2016.

Instead of a computer program designed to test the limits of the human brain, SenseRobot has a more modest goal - aiming to “bring AI into thousands of households”, according to Xu Li, SenseTime CEO and co-founder, at a launch event in Shanghai on Wednesday.

“Behind the SenseRobot is the huge progress in computing power, extremely high hand-eye coordination accuracy and powerful engineering innovations,” said Xu. “We hope to redefine the future of household robots and bring a new life experience to families.”

 - SCMP