Shanghai Zixi Technology Co, a traditional garment maker in Shanghai's Jiading district, has expanded into making custom clothes for humanoid robots, drawing on years of experience in protective suits for industrial robots.

​"When we first received orders for humanoid robots, we had no idea what to do," said Lei Wen, founder of the company. Robots have boxy torsos and protruding joints, so clothes cut to human measurements either constrain movement or hang loose in folds. Cameras, cooling grilles, and charging ports add further design challenges.

Workers first measure head, shoulders, arms, chest and waist, along with joint range of motion and the locations of grilles, cameras, and charging ports. They drape white muslin over a robot, adding triangular gussets at the underarms, crotch, and backs of the knees to allow joint movement, then refine the pattern in garment CAD software.

Fabric and design vary by use. Performance robots get stylish, stretchy outfits for actions such as dancing; tour-guide robots wear business-style suits, dresses, and uniforms. Some robots require clothing that resists electric arcs, cold, wind, sand, and high temperatures.

Finished garments are test-fitted on powered-up robots, with workers adjusting patterns until clothes fit smoothly without blocking cameras or sensors. The flexible line produces five to 10 pieces per worker per day, plus three to five pairs of motion-capture gloves, Lei said.

The company has shipped more than 3,000 sets, mainly for industrial welding, spraying, outdoor warmth, food processing, and medical care, serving Unitree Robotics and AgiBot. It is now developing fabric surfaces with temperature and pressure sensor arrays for collision detection and temperature sensing.