Airbus has signed an agreement with UBTech Robotics and will involve the Walker S2 humanoid in work in the aircraft manufacturer’s production facilities. The tests are aimed not only at cheap labor, but also at the robot’s autonomous replacement of its own battery, which should ensure continuous operation in 24/7 mode.
Airbus has signed an agreement with UBTech Robotics and will involve the Walker S2 humanoid in work in the aircraft manufacturer’s production facilities. The tests are aimed not only at cheap labor, but also at the robot’s autonomous replacement of its own battery, which should ensure continuous operation in 24/7 mode.
According to Interesting Engineering, Airbus has already purchased one Walker S2 from UBTech and will work with the developer to explore how this class of robot can support aircraft manufacturing tasks. The number of subsequent deliveries and the amount of the deal were not disclosed. The focus is on industrial environments where precision, stability and safety requirements are required.
Walker S2 was created for factories: the robot is about 1.77 m tall, the declared load capacity is up to 15 kg, and it uses a vision system to navigate the shop. Interesting Engineering writes that the proprietary Co Agent AI is installed inside, which helps coordinate movements, recognize objects and adapt to various operations on the line. A separate feature here is the autonomous «hot» battery replacement: the UBTech website states that Walker S2 can change the battery independently in about three minutes, without human intervention.
The company also cites examples of previous industrial implementations: Walker S2 has already appeared on BYD and Foxconn sites, and as of December 26, 1,000 such robots had been produced at the Liuzhou plant. The partnership with Airbus continues a series of expansions outside China after the agreement with Texas Instruments, and on the news, UBTech shares rose 6,76% to HK$142.20.
UBTech was founded in 2012 in Shenzhen and went public in Hong Kong in late 2023. It reported 1.4 billion yuan in orders for humanoids last year (about $201 million) and expects to ship tens of thousands of industrial robots this year.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how Chinese robotics company AgiBot launched Qingtian Rent, a new platform for renting humanoid robots for 16 different uses. The robots can be rented for weddings, business meetings, concerts, exhibitions, and more.
