UBTech Walker S1
Walker S1 is the 2024 industrial humanoid that UBTech placed in several Chinese car and electronics plants. It is 172 cm tall, carries up to 15 kg and works with AMRs for material handling.
We have not sat down with this one. The score below is computed from the data we hold, and the facts on this page are sourced. It is not on sale, so there is nothing to recommend.
How the score is built
Capability is what the machine physically does. Value compares it with others at a similar price, not with the whole market. Buyability asks whether you can really order one. Ecosystem is the software and community around it. Proof is what it has done in the field, which is where most humanoids score badly and should.
What people buy instead.
- Status
- Limited production
- Category
- industrial
- First revealed
- October 2024
- Form
- bipedal
- Height
- 172 cm
- Weight
- 76 kg
- Payload
- 15 kg
- Degrees of freedom
- 41
- Battery
- n/a
- Runtime
- n/a
- Walking speed
- n/a
- Actuation
- electric
- Units deployed (est.)
- not disclosed
- Teleoperation
- partial
Where it stands
Delivered to BYD, Zeekr, Foxconn, Audi FAW, Dongfeng Liuzhou and others during 2024 and 2025; being replaced by Walker S2 for new orders.
What stands out
- Deployed at BYD, Zeekr and Foxconn sites
- 15 kg payload
Autonomy, observed
Box moving and sorting with AMRs at BYD Shenzhen and Zeekr Ningbo shown in UBTech videos; multi-robot collaboration demo in March 2025.
Hands, sensors, brain
- Hands: five-finger hands with tactile sensing
- Sensors: depth cameras, LiDAR, tactile hands
- AI stack: BrainNet multi-robot collaboration framework with a cloud reasoning model
Price and volume
No public price; enterprise contracts only.
UBTech said orders for the Walker S series exceeded CNY 800 million in 2025 (verify).
Index position
In the Humanoid Index, which ranks on shipped reality rather than value for money, UBTech Walker S1 sits at #7 of 107 with 54 points: deployment 28/50, autonomy 18/30, availability 8/20. See that method.
Where UBTech Walker S1 works.
| Customer | Site | Sector | Task | Since | Status | Units | Autonomy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAIC Group | BAIC plant (location not disclosed), China | automotive | Factory training in handling and inspection | Dec 2024 | unclear | n/d | mixed |
| Zeekr (Geely) | Zeekr 5G smart factory, Ningbo, China | automotive | Collaborative sorting, handling, precision assembly and quality checks with multiple robots | Nov 2024 | active | n/d | mixed |
| Audi FAW NEV | Audi FAW NEV plant, Changchun, China | automotive | Quality inspection including refrigerant leak checks on new energy vehicles | Nov 2024 | pilot | n/d | mixed |
| BYD | BYD plant (location not disclosed), China | automotive | Handling and moving boxes and inspection tasks in the factory, in coordination with unmanned logistics vehicles | Oct 2024 | active | n/d | mixed |
| Foxconn | Foxconn factory (location not disclosed), China | other | Electronics manufacturing tasks such as material handling and inspection | 2024 | pilot | n/d | mixed |
| Geely Auto | Geely plants (in addition to the Zeekr brand plant in Ningbo), China | automotive | Handling, inspection and assembly line support | 2024 | unclear | n/d | mixed |
Milestones.
UBTech runs multiple Walker S1 robots cooperating at Zeekr's plant
UBTech shows dozens of Walker S1 robots at Zeekr's 5G smart factory in Ningbo doing collaborative sorting, handling and precision assembly, coordinated by a swarm intelligence system it calls BrainNet. It is presented as the first multi humanoid collaborative training in a car factory.
UBTech Walker S1 starts training at BYD's factory
UBTech says Walker S1 has entered a BYD plant for practical training in handling and inspection tasks, and reports orders from several automakers. UBTech states Walker S has more than 500 units in its order pipeline from carmakers.
How long does a humanoid robot actually run
22 of 182 humanoids on record quote a runtime. The claims run from 1 to 8 hours with a median of 4, and of the 44 machines you can order, 4 say anything at all.
China builds, America demos: what 108 makers tell you
Chinese makers account for 65 of the 182 humanoids in our record and 31 of the 44 you can order. American makers hold the money, the research and most of the autonomy claims, and sell you almost nothing.
What humanoid robots can actually do in 2026
Of 182 humanoid robots on record, 117 have a human in the loop, 33 have ever worked at a customer site and none has a verified fleet count. Here is what that leaves.
Where humanoids actually work: 52 deployments, counted
We track 52 humanoid deployments at named sites. Eighteen are in car plants, exactly half are live, and six say how many robots turned up. Those six add up to 41 machines.
Other robots by UBTech Robotics.
Tien Kung Xingzhe
Tien Kung Xingzhe combines the lower body of X-Humanoid's Tiangong with UBTech's upper body for the scientific research market. It launched in March 2025 at a list price of about CNY 299,000.
UBTech Alpha series
The Alpha series of 40 cm hobby humanoids built UBTech's early business and funded its later full-size Walker program. Alpha 1S robots performed on the 2016 Spring Festival Gala.
UBTech Walker (2018 and 2019)
Walker was UBTech's first full-size humanoid. The CES 2018 version had legs and a torso screen but no arms; the CES 2019 version added arms and hands with 36 degrees of freedom.
UBTech Walker C
Walker C is a UBTech humanoid aimed at commercial service settings such as reception and exhibitions rather than factories.
UBTech Walker S
Walker S was the first industrial version of the Walker line, unveiled on UBTech's Hong Kong listing day in December 2023. It was the first Chinese humanoid to enter a car factory training program (NIO, February 2024).
UBTech Walker S2
Walker S2 is UBTech's 2025 industrial humanoid and the first to swap its own battery, allowing round-the-clock operation. It has 52 degrees of freedom and is the product behind UBTech's large 2025 order announcements.
UBTech Walker X
Walker X was UBTech's 2021 service humanoid with 41 degrees of freedom and a 3 km/h walking speed. It served as a guide robot at the China pavilion of Expo 2020 Dubai.
Sources
- 01UBTech Walker S1 pageUBTech
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