By Hu Jian, Cheng Yuanzhou, People’s Daily
Standing 1.72 meters tall in sleek silver shells, humanoid robots now execute precision tasks on production lines, sorting materials, carrying crates, assembling components. This technological leap transforms once-futuristic visions into industrial reality.
These advanced machines, known as Walker S1 industrial humanoids, are developed by UBTECH Robotics headquartered in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province. A full fleet has now officially commenced operational deployment at a 5G smart factory of Zeekr, a brand under Chinese carmaker Geely, in Qianwan New Area, Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang province.
“The Walker S series is currently undergoing trials at facilities of Geely, BYD, Foxconn, and SF Express,” said UBTECH founder Zhou Jian. “After more than a decade of exploration, we’re entering a new phase of development, with over 500 units in the pipeline as intended orders.”
While robotic arms and automated machinery on assembly lines have long been labeled “robots,” Zhou believes humanoid robots represent the paradigm of the truest form of robotics – the ultimate realization of embodied intelligence.
On April 19, the world’s first half-marathon for humanoid robots was held in Beijing. The Tiangong Ultra, developed by the Beijing Humanoid RobotInnovation Center, which was initiated by UBTECH, crossed the finish line first and claimed the championship.
In July 2024, UBTECH’s industrial humanoid robot, the Walker S Lite, started a 21-day operational trial at the Zeekr smart factory, designated for autonomous material transportation tasks. Unfortunately, its performance fell short. Its speed was slow, and its efficiency reached only about 20 percent of human labor equivalency.
Three months later, after significant technical improvements, the upgraded Walker S1 debuted. Roughly the size of an average adult, it operated within a 30%expanded workspace. With in-house developed technology, the robot’s walking stability and manual dexterity were significantly enhanced.
Beyond basic material handling, Walker S1, equipped with intelligent cameras and deep learning models, can also perform precise, non-destructive inspections of car logos and headlights, with an accuracy rate exceeding 99 percent.
To achieve true human-like functionality, humanoid robots must extend beyond task executiontoincorporate interactive and collaborative capabilities. According to Jiao Jichao, vice president of UBTECH and executive dean of UBTECH Research Institute, developing swarm intelligence for humanoid robots represents a critical pathway to achieving scalable industrial applications.
In March this year, UBTECH launched its first multi-robotcollaborative trial involving coordinated operations across diversescenarios and task sets.
In one test, two Walker S1 units walked steadily to a crate, lifted it together in perfect sync, then followed a self-planned delivery route, navigating around other moving robots along the way.
How do they coordinate?
“Similar to humans, we’ve given robots a ‘cerebrum’ and a ‘cerebellum.'” Jiao explained. The “cerebrum,” powered by a multimodal embodied reasoning model based on DeepSeek-R1, enables common-sense inference. The “‘cerebellum,” integrating perception and distributed control technologies, allows parallel distributed learning, speeding up skill development and transfer.
During cooperative tasks, the “cerebrum” handles route planning, process breakdown, and on-site coordination, while the “cerebrum” manages limb movements, posture adjustments, and grip strength. Each robot’s brain system interfaces with a centralized humanoid intelligent network, which enables synchronized swarm behavior rather than fragmented individual action.
When processing mixed-sizes crates, the robots rely on the cloud-based brain to divide tasks. Each unit adapts workflows in real time while executing millisecond-level command responses.
At BYD’s facility, the Walker S1’s work efficiency has doubled, and the robot is scheduled for scaled deployment in the second quarter. At Foxconn’s Longhua facility in Shenzhen, its application in logistics has been successfully validated. At the Audi-FAW production base in Changchun, northeast China’s Jilin province, the Walker S1 is undergoing pilot trials for air-conditioning leak detection. These trials represent significant breakthroughs in the industrial adoption of humanoid robots.
“For widespread integration into production lines, robots must evolve from ‘functional’ to ‘highly practical’, and the cost must come down,” said Zhou.
According to him, UBTECHallocates nearly 50% of its revenue to R&D investment. As of the end of 2024, the company holds 2,680 valid patents worldwide and has led or participated in the formulation of nearly 40 global standards related to intelligent robotics, ranking among the global leaders in humanoid robot patent filings.
How close are we to mass production?
“We’ve already entered the stage of small-scale pilot production, but it will take another one to two years to reach full industrial-grade mass production capacity,” Jiao said. He noted that the industry is now at a crucial turning point, with intelligent manufacturing poised to become the first major application field for humanoid robots.
