In a groundbreaking development, Chinese robotics firm UBTech has unveiled a significant milestone in industrial automation with its humanoid robot, Walker S1. This innovation took center stage at the state-of-the-art Zeekr 5G-wired smart factory, a key player in the electric vehicle (EV) sector under the Geely umbrella.
Revolutionizing Factory Automation
In March, UBTech’s Walker S1 robots embarked on a pioneering journey, engaging in collaborative learning and task performance at the Zeekr facility located in Zhejiang province, China. This initiative was powered by BrainNet, UBTech’s advanced AI framework, marking the world’s first multi-robot, multi-task, and multi-scenario collaborative training in an industrial environment.
The BrainNet AI Framework
BrainNet serves as a cornerstone in UBTech’s vision of factory intelligence. By connecting cloud-device inference and skill nodes, it forms a Swarm Intelligence system. This system is composed of a central “super brain” and distributed “intelligent sub-brains,” where the super brain employs a large, multimodal reasoning model to manage complex production-line decisions. Meanwhile, the sub-brains, built on a Transformer model, focus on multi-robot control and sensory integration across various fields.
The framework facilitates distributed learning, accelerating task training and skill transfer among robots. Enhanced by DeepSeek-R1 deep reasoning technology, the model processes large-scale data, enabling human-like common-sense reasoning. This empowers the Walker S1 to autonomously schedule, decompose, and coordinate tasks, thereby improving decision-making and efficiency in dynamic environments. The use of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) further enhances adaptability, accuracy, and scalability.
Walker S1 in Action
At the Zeekr factory, Walker S1 robots demonstrated their prowess in critical production areas, including final assembly, instrumentation, inspection, and vehicle assembly. Their capabilities encompass collaborative sorting, handling, and precision assembly, utilizing hybrid decision-making and vision-based perception. The swarm intelligence system integrates semantic VSLAM navigation, collective mapping, and cloud-assisted decision-making.
The Walker S1’s joint planning system supports collaborative handling, adapting to environments, planning efficient trajectories, and balancing loads. This allows for dynamic adjustments in force and position, ensuring the stable movement of large objects. In precision assembly, the robots manipulate deformable materials with high-precision sensors and adaptive control, minimizing damage risk. Furthermore, they combine vision-based global positioning with force-based adjustments through reinforcement learning for quality inspection, offering precise and adaptive evaluations.
Expansion into New Industries
UBTech is not stopping at the automotive sector. It is expanding its robotic deployment in collaboration with Midea Group, a leader in home appliances, as China intensifies its push for intelligent automation. UBTech recently announced securing a buyer for a “small batch” of its bipedal humanoid robots—Walker S1 and Walker C. These units will be utilized in automobile manufacturing and commercial hospitality sectors. While the specific buyer remains unnamed, reports indicate Dongfeng Liuqi Motor, a subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor Group, plans to acquire at least 20 Walker S1 units within a month.
This step forward marks a significant commercial rollout of UBTech’s humanoid robots, with advance payments already confirmed. The full fleet has commenced operational deployment at Zeekr’s 5G smart factory.
Strategic Trials and Future Prospects
The Walker S series is currently undergoing trials at facilities of major industry players such as Geely, BYD, Foxconn, and SF Express. UBTech’s founder, Zhou Jian, highlighted the company’s ambitious development phase, with over 500 units in the pipeline as intended orders.
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Note: This article is inspired by content from https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/china-robots-tackle-car-factory-tasks. It has been rephrased for originality. Images are credited to the original source.