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UBTech strikes deal with China to assist at border crossings, and this isn't 
a dystopian nightmare at all

Date:
Thu, 27 Nov 2025 14:09:17 +0000

Description:
UBTech Walker S2, one of the first mass-produced humanoid robots, is about to
start a border patrol job in China. What does this mean for humanity?

FULL STORY
======================================================================

Just weeks after UBTech unveiled one of the most unintentionally terrifying
humanoid robot videos on YouTube, the company has announced one of the Walker
S2 android's first jobs, working the border crossing between China and
Vietnam.

As reported by SCMP , UBTech just secured a huge contract ($37M in US 
dollars) with a Chinese province that shares its border with Vietnam. 

The robot, which can swap its own battery out of its back in under 3 minutes,
will have a full complement of duties, including assisting in everything from
patrols to traveler guidance and logistics. 

You may have already seen UBTech Walker S2. It was featured in the "mass
production and Delivery" YouTube video that looked like it was copied 
straight out of the 2004 Will Smith movie, I, Robot . 

In the video, a hanger reveals a virtual army of Walker S2 robots who look,
move, and march in unison into waiting cargo containers. Every image is
reminiscent of scenes from the film in which a trailer blocks the path of 
Will Smith's self-driving car, and the giant door rolls up to reveal hundreds
of mass-produced humanoid robots that jump off their perch and attack. Even
the
robots in cargo containers remind me of other scenes from the film. 

For UBTech, though, the moment was a point of pride as it wrote in the 
YouTube caption, "Huge milestone achieved! Worlds first mass delivery of
humanoid robots has completed! Hundreds of UBTECH Walker S2 have been
delivered
to our partners. The future of industrial automation is here. March  forward to
transformation!" 

Now it seems that many of these ready-to-go industrial robots will be
delivered, in part, to the Chinese/Vietnam border. 

UBTech Walker S2 is just one of many humanoid robots in the news. There's the
Time Magazine cover model Figure 03 , and the 1X Neo Beta , that, while still
months from mass delivery, is being advertised as a ready-to-go $20,000 home
helper and companion. 

While we don't know how much the UBTech Walker S2 costs, we do have some 
specs on the 5 ft, 7-inch tall, 154-pound bot. It can walk at up to 4mph,
features a pair of dexterous hands with tactile sensors, and an onboard LLM
for
voice communication through its built-in microphones and speakers. 

There is something vaguely dystopian about a passionless army of humanoid
robots working border duties, and one can only imagine that success in China
could inspire humanoid robotic companies to try and sell their robots to 
other border management operations. 

However, since robots are not guided by feelings or prejudices, perhaps they
might be more reasonable about border-crossing activities. That, though, may
be
wishful thinking. 

What is certain is that government agencies and industries are increasingly
interested in AI and automation to take on repetitive and difficult tasks. 

SCMP reports that UBTech plans to deliver 500 Walker S2 robots by the end of
2025 and 10,000 by 2027. 

A future where humanoid robots are at work in the home, factories, stores, 
the office, and at borders is no longer hard to imagine. Surely, things will
turn out better than they did in I,Robot . 

======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/ubtech-strikes-deal-with-chi
na-to-assist-at-border-crossings-and-this-isnt-a-dystopian-nightmare-at-all

$$
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