Future of Made-in-China: UBTech Robotics deploys first humanoid 'team' in car factory
A Shenzhen-based humanoid robot maker said it has deployed "dozens of robots" in an electric vehicle (EV) factory where they work together on complicated tasks, offering a peek into the future of Made-in-China tech as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technologies are applied to empower manufacturing.
Hong Kong-listed UBTech Robotics said on Monday that it has completed a test to deploy dozens of its Walker S1 robots in the Zeekr EV factory in the Chinese port city of Ningbo for "multitask" and "multi site" operations.
According to photos and videos provided by UBTech, the human-shaped robots work as a team to complete tasks such as lifting heavy boxes and handling soft materials.
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The successful deployment showcases China's progress in upgrading its massive manufacturing capability by letting smart robots run factories through autonomous interaction and coordination.
US billionaire Elon Musk said in late January that he aimed to deploy 10,000 Optimus humanoid robots in Tesla factories this year. It is unclear how many humanoid robots Tesla has deployed so far. In a post on X in January, Tesla revealed that it has had two Optimus robots working autonomously on its factory floor since June 2024.
UBTech robots working in the Zeekr car plant in Ningbo. Photo: Handout alt=UBTech robots working in the Zeekr car plant in Ningbo. Photo: Handout>
UBTech did not disclose how many S1 robots it has deployed to the Zeeker factory, but a "group photo" of the robots showed that the number was around 20. Zeekr is an EV brand owned by Chinese car conglomerate Geely Auto, one of China's major car makers.
UBTech planned to deliver between 500 and 1,000 of its Walker S-series robots this year to customers including car makers, Apple supplier Foxconn and logistics firm SF Express, UBTech chief brand officer Michael Tam said in an interview on the sidelines of the recent China Conference hosted by the South China Morning Post.
UBTech said on Monday it has developed a multimodal reasoning model based on DeepSeek's open-source reasoning model R1, which allows its robots to "break down, schedule and coordinate tasks autonomously".
The company said the technical breakthrough of controlling multiple robots for coordinated production "ensures efficient teamwork in complex industrial environments and paves the way for the next evolution of intelligent manufacturing".
The robots were deployed in different workshops for assembly, instrument testing, quality control and vehicle door processing, it said.
Two robots are able to work together to lift a heavy box and carry it to another spot, which requires coordination in route planning and load distribution, according to a video posted on the company's YouTube channel on Monday.
The humanoid robot, which has five fingers on each hand, can perform delicate work, such as holding thin films without causing damage.
UBTech trains its AI model on a data set accumulated from a number of car plants. It has deployed its robots to Geely Auto, FAW-Volkswagen, Audi FAW and BYD, all of which have completed training in the use of individual humanoid robots.
UBTech is "accelerating its multi-humanoid robot collaborative training" to more partners, it said on Monday.
Shares of UBTech rose 2.7 per cent to close at HK$92.80 in Hong Kong on Monday.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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