August 21 – Premier League champions Manchester City have extended their partnership with robotics company UBTECH. The deal, first signed in 2016, sees the robot maker designated as the Club’s Official Robot Partner.
UBTECH robots have been part of the club’s matchday entertainment with displays on the pitch and even the Alpha 2 robot ‘signing’ for Manchester City as a new squad member. During the 2018/19 season the Cruzr robot will work the Etihad Stadium providing fans with match day and retail information.
Damian Willoughby, Senior Vice President of Partnerships at City Football Group, said: “This is a truly unique partnership that has provided entertaining content between fans, players and robots that has been enjoyed around the world. We … are excited to further explore the relationship between football and robotics.”
Last season, UBTECH Robotics teamed up with City in the Community to deliver bespoke STEM and coding lessons to schools across Greater Manchester through the use of the JIMU robot range. More than 1,120 children across 45 local primary schools received education and the programme is set to be rolled out at City Football Group clubs Melbourne City and New York City in the coming months.
Zhou Jian, founder and CEO at UBTECH, said: “In the past two years, through a combination of sports, entertainment and artificial intelligence, we have joined forces to explore a new way of innovation. As a professional and innovative team, Manchester City is a natural fit for us. We are looking forward to continuing our partnership.”
No value was given for the renewal, term is likely to be for a further two seasons.
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