BellaBot: a cat-faced serving robot that helped staff rather than replaced them

A serving robot that says “that tickles” when you stroke its ears

Pudu Robotics was founded in Shenzhen in 2016 by Felix Zhang. BellaBot, launched in December 2019, stands 129 cm tall, has four trays and carries up to 40 kg at a time. It finds its way with lidar and cameras and runs for about 13 hours on a charge. Its screen shows a cat’s face. Stroke its ears and it says that tickles in a cat-like voice; when its path is blocked it looks angry, and when idle it looks sleepy. In Japan a 36-month rental plan at ¥96,800 a month including tax went on offer in 2022.

A cat in 2,100 family restaurants

Japan’s Skylark group began bringing BellaBot into its restaurants, including the Gusto chain, in August 2021. By a 2025 report, about 3,000 units were in about 2,100 restaurants: one or two per restaurant, three in large ones. In Korea the distributor VD Company supplied Pudu robots and by February 2023 had placed about 3,000 units (all Pudu models) in about 2,000 restaurants. In April 2024 Pudu released BellaBot Pro, which adds an 18.5-inch advertising screen. In April 2026 it said it had shipped more than 120,000 robots in total. The company’s growth, however, now comes from cleaning robots, which make up more than 70% of its revenue.

Restaurants that didn’t cut staff

Skylark reported that 67% of customers were satisfied (in Pudu’s case study). Toyo Keizai reported that with robots doing the carrying, Skylark was able to hire more older people, people with disabilities and foreign workers. A test restaurant in Korea ran with four robots and two staff instead of five staff. A VD Company representative said robots cannot fully replace people, but that staff who had suffered musculoskeletal pain from carrying heavy cookware and food said they hurt less. The manager of a restaurant in South Carolina said: “We haven’t downsized any or cut any positions. Actually the robot is a part of our team.” At a restaurant in Lausanne, on the other hand, staff noted that the robot can get confused and spin in circles when the room is full.

It lasted because it took on only part of the job

BellaBot’s job is a single one: carrying from the kitchen to the table. In every report from the floor, staff were working alongside it. Moxi had to finish its hospital errands alone, but BellaBot always has staff nearby who can step in when it gets stuck. It also differs from Pepper, since a tablet cannot carry a heavy tray. The cat face may help customers laugh it off when the robot blocks the way or wanders.

When this robot gets stuck, is there someone right beside it to help?

What we haven’t confirmed

• BellaBot’s own sales, worldwide and in Korea
• Whether all of Skylark’s roughly 3,000 robots are BellaBots
• The rental price in Korea, and current official prices
• Any peer-reviewed study of BellaBot itself