European aviation giant Airbus has entered into an agreement with Chinese robotics company UBTech Robotics. The deal will see Airbus introduce UBTech’s advanced humanoid robots, the Walker S2 model, into its manufacturing processes for testing and development.
The Walker S2 is a full-sized humanoid robot, standing 176 cm (5’9”) tall and weighing 70 kg (154 lbs). It is designed for industrial tasks, featuring dexterous hands with tactile sensors, the ability to carry substantial weight, and a unique function to hot-swap its own batteries for continuous operation. The partnership includes collaborative work to integrate these robots into Airbus’s airplane assembly lines.
While the exact number of units were not disclosed, the purchase is viewed as an initial, exploratory move. An Airbus statement clarified that the cooperation is in the “early concept-testing stage.” This partnership follows a similar deal UBTech struck with U.S. semiconductor maker Texas Instruments in late 2025, signaling the Chinese firm’s aggressive push into global industrial markets.
