UBTECH's Walker S1 industrial humanoid robot works at Foxconn's plant in Longhua district, Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: Courtesy of UBTECH

Manufacturing giant Foxconn and Shenzhen-based humanoid robot company UBTECH announced on Wednesday that the two companies will establish a strategic partnership to advance the integration of UBTECH's humanoid robots into Foxconn's intelligent manufacturing processes.

The two sides will jointly research and explore the application scenarios of humanoid robots in intelligent manufacturing field, such as testing and implementing robots in tasks like handling, sorting, gluing, quality inspection positions that may cause labor health issues, according to a statement UBTECH sent to the Global Times on Wednesday.

UBTECH could leverage its tech advances in AI innovations and humanoid robotics to assist Foxconn in upgrading its manufacturing intelligence, while Foxconn, in return, is committed to integrating UBTECH's industrial-grade humanoid robot solutions into its production lines to upgrade its factories and scale up humanoid robot applications, the statement reads.

In addition, the two companies vowed to jointly build a joint laboratory for using humanoid robots in intelligent manufacturing, and will make collaborative efforts in accelerating the development of the humanoid robot industry chain and its commercial application, said the statement.

Currently, UBTECH's industrial humanoid robot, Walker S1, has completed a two-month training at Foxconn's factory in Shenzhen's Longhua district, South China's Guangdong Province, demonstrating the practicality of humanoid robots in upgrading logistical operations. In the next phase, UBTECH's industrial humanoid robots will undergo more training at Foxconn's automotive plant in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province.

UBTECH's humanoid robots are currently operational in automotive companies such as BYD, Geely, Audi-FAW, and FAW- Volkswagen's Qingdao factory, East China's Shandong Province, said the company.

Global Times