China To Deploy Battery-Swapping Humanoid Robots Along An International Border

China is preparing to roll out one of its largest real-world deployments of humanoid robots after UBTech Robotics secured a 264 million yuan (US 37 million dollars) contract to place its Walker S2 units across border checkpoints in Guangxi. Deliveries begin in December, marking a significant expansion of China’s push to integrate humanoids into public security, logistics, and industrial operations, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

The agreement was signed with a humanoid robot centre in Fangchenggang, a coastal city bordering Vietnam. The robots will be tasked with guiding travellers, managing crowds, supporting patrol duties, and handling logistics work at busy border crossings. According to the report, the deployment will also extend to industrial facilities producing steel, copper, and aluminium, where the robots will carry out inspection tasks.

The initiative highlights China’s accelerating investment in embodied AI. Similar deployments have appeared at major airports, government offices, and international events. A multilingual robot developed by Beijing-based iBen Intelligence assisted immigration authorities during this year’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin, while patrol robots have become increasingly common in cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Chengdu.

At the centre of the new rollout is the Walker S2, an industrial-grade humanoid introduced in July. Standing 1.76 metres tall with 52 degrees of freedom, the robot features advanced dexterous hands capable of sub-millimetre precision. Each arm can lift up to 15 kilograms, and its articulated joints allow deep bending and ground-level manipulation for factory and inspection work.

One of the Walker S2’s most distinctive capabilities is its autonomous hot-swappable battery system. UBTech says the robot can remove and replace its own battery in about three minutes, enabling near continuous 24-hour operation without human involvement. The system relies on UBTech’s BrainNet 2.0 and Co-Agent AI frameworks for multimodal reasoning, task planning, and adaptive decision-making.

The robot’s binocular stereo vision provides human-like depth perception, while dynamic balancing algorithms allow stable movement at speeds up to 7.2 kilometres per hour even when carrying heavy loads.

According to UBTech, cumulative orders for the Walker series have already reached 1.1 billion yuan since shipments began this month. The company plans to deliver 500 humanoids by year’s end and scale production tenfold next year, targeting 10,000 units annually by 2027.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently formalised a national humanoid robotics committee, reflecting the sector’s rapid growth. With border security now joining healthcare, city management, logistics, and industrial automation, humanoid robots are becoming a visible part of China’s broader embodied AI strategy.