The idea of a humanoid robot building an airplane may sound far-fetched, but a new deal between the European aviation giant Airbus and Chinese robot specialist UBTech suggests that such a scenario could be on the cards.
Airbus’s deal with UBTech involves the company’s Walker S2 humanoid robot, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Details are currently scant, but reports suggest that Airbus is keen to explore the idea of putting the humanoid robot on the assembly line, likely assisting human workers in the construction of new aircraft.
UBTech unveiled the Walker S2 in 2024. The bipedal bot stands at 69.3 inches (176 centimeters), supports AI-powered voice interaction via built-in microphones and speakers, and comes with highly dexterous hands featuring 11 degrees of freedom. The Walker S2 can even swap out its own battery when it needs fresh juice, enabling it to work around the clock, if required.
Sophisticated robots have, of course, been a part of assembly lines for decades, but the humanoid variety could bring extra benefits due to their dexterity and adaptability, including the ability to switch tasks with little or no intervention. The robots can also be added to most working environments without the need for costly retrofits.
While humanoid robots have definitely made notable advancements in recent years, it’s still not clear how ready they are to perform meaningful tasks in complex industrial settings. Airbus’s deal with UBTech, however, certainly shows a belief that such robots can be of benefit to the workplace.
We’ve reached out to Airbus for more details on how it plans to deploy the Walker S2 and we’ll update this article when we hear back.
We recently saw the Walker S2 showing off its skills on a tennis court, competently hitting a ball with a human partner in an impressive display of its technological abilities.
Shenzhen‑based UBTech, which launched in 2012, took orders worth about $200 million from a range of customers last year, and has plans to produce as many as 10,000 of its Walker S2 robots in 2026.
UBTech’s Airbus deal follows a similar one last month with American semiconductor maker Texas Instruments as the robotics company seeks global expansion in a fast-growing sector that’s on course to become even more competitive in 2026.