China is preparing to put humanoid robots on duty at one of its busiest border crossings with Vietnam. UBTECH Robotics has secured a $37 million deal to begin placing its Walker S2 units on site from this month.
The project is being run by UBTECH Robotics Corp., a Shenzhen company that designs full-size humanoid robots for industrial use and public-facing services.
A key focus for its engineers is embodied intelligence-artificial intelligence that operates a physical robot body-aimed at helping these machines cope with untidy, unpredictable real-world conditions.
The work will take place in Fangchenggang, a coastal city in Guangxi close to the Vietnam border, where freight lorries, coaches and day-trippers move through in a constant stream.
Chinese planners regard a border crossing as a demanding live test: timetables are unforgiving, and inspection processes cannot easily pause.
If the robots can operate consistently in that environment, it becomes simpler to make the case for similar roll-outs at airports, seaports and busy railway stations.
Policy moves behind the Fangchenggang border trial
In 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued guidance calling for a national innovation system centred on humanoid robots by 2025.
The ministry then opened consultations in 2024 on a standardisation technical committee-an expert group responsible for drafting industry rules for humanoid robots.
Chinese officials are treating humanoid robots as a strategic sector, bringing company leaders into national standards bodies that will also scrutinise deployments such as Fangchenggang.
This border trial aligns with that direction, placing humanoids into a regulated setting where regulators will closely track safety, reliability and accountability.
Inside the UBTECH Robotics Walker S2 robots
Walker S2 is a human-scale humanoid platform with articulated legs, a torso and arms, intended to travel in the same spaces people already use.
It features autonomous battery swapping, meaning robots can replace battery packs without human assistance, allowing operation with minimal downtime.
For balance and collision avoidance, the robot integrates cameras, depth sensors and force feedback through its joints to track movement nearby.
Together, that combination of hardware and software positions Walker S2 as something closer to a general-purpose worker than many single-task factory systems.
What Walker S2 units can do at Fangchenggang
Within the Fangchenggang deployment, Walker S2 units are expected to support border staff by guiding passenger queues, directing vehicles and responding to straightforward questions from travellers.
Some robots will patrol corridors and waiting zones, looking for blocked exits or crowding patterns that could require intervention by human officers.
Others will move along freight lanes to assist logistics teams by checking container IDs, confirming seals and sending status updates back to dispatch centres.
Beyond the crossing itself, the fleet is also expected to inspect steel, copper and aluminium sites, following set routes through hot industrial yards.
Walker S2 units are popular
The Fangchenggang order is not UBTECH’s first large humanoid deal; earlier agreements in 2025 covered factories and data centres in other provinces.
“This isn’t just a number; it’s proof of real-world value and the accelerating commercialization of humanoid robots globally!” wrote scientists at UBTECH in a post.
UBTECH says that, once the September procurement deal and other domestic projects are included, 2025 orders for the Walker S2 series now add up to around $157 billion.
Even so, the business is still loss-making despite rising revenue, and it must persuade investors that these orders can translate into lasting profitability.
Training the humanoid robots
Beijing has established a humanoid robot data training centre where robots practise tasks to generate training data, located in Shijingshan District.
The facility covers about 3,000 square metres, roughly 32,000 square feet, and already has more than 100 humanoid machines operating in staged workplace setups.
During training, robots assemble components in mock workshops, clean bathrooms, make beds, and even look after plants and small indoor gardens.
A centre of this kind provides developers with data so that future humanoids arrive at locations like Fangchenggang with proven skills rather than assumptions.
A recent survey of industrial robotics research found that perception systems are crucial when machines work in the same space as human staff.
In that research, the authors emphasise how cameras, depth sensors and other detectors help robots identify people, prevent collisions and adjust speed when near crowds.
These functions match the Fangchenggang approach, where humanoids are expected to follow patrol routes while reacting in real time to unexpected human movement.
Researchers also caution that safety does not happen by default, so systems must be thoroughly tested and continuously monitored when robots operate close to people.
What this means for real humans
For travellers, the most obvious difference will be sharing queues and inspection halls with machines that can speak, point and offer basic directions.
Border officers may spend less time controlling lines or repeating simple instructions, and more time on identity checks, risk assessments and complex investigations.
Some people will appreciate shorter waits and clearer guidance, while others may feel uncomfortable with humanoid robots observing movement and recording each interaction.
For border staff, the roll-out also creates practical issues around training, authority and accountability whenever a robot makes an error or fails to notice signals.
Questions remain about Walker S2
The Fangchenggang roll-out will show whether humanoids can remain stable, avoid faults and cope with rough weather at an outdoor, high-traffic crossing.
It should also indicate whether round-the-clock robot patrols and inspections reduce costs once hardware, software development, maintenance and supervision are all fully accounted for.
China’s economic planners have already cautioned humanoid robot companies against overpromising and overbuilding, reflecting worries about hype and potential overcapacity in the sector.
If the trial goes well, deployments could expand to other borders and critical infrastructure; if it does not, companies may face more stringent scrutiny.
Details obtained from an online post by Interesting Engineering.
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