A view of mass delivery of UBTECH Robotics' full-size industrial humanoid robots Walker S2 in November in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: Courtesy of UBTECH Robotics
A Chinese robotics company recently released a video depicting its production and delivery of full-size industrial humanoid robots. The video, with a futurist view similar to scenes displayed in the sci-fi movie "I, Robot," however, was claimed by a US robotic company head on the social media platform X on November 14 as "fake."
Much of the skepticisms on China's robotics strength stem from a lack of understanding of China's manufacturing capabilities and the strengths of the country's supply-chain coordination system, Chinese robotics company UBTECH Robotics told the Global Times, in response to recent doubts from a US tech company head on the authenticity of a video featuring mass delivery of UBTECH Robotics' full-size industrial humanoid robots Walker S2.
The comments come after Brett Adcock, founder and CEO of US robotics company Figure, in recent days cast doubts on the authenticity of a video posted by Chinese tech start-up UBTECH Robotics that celebrated the mass production and delivery of the company's full-size industrial humanoid robots Walker S2.
The video, posted on November 12, features scenes that like a futuristic robot parade sequence lifted straight from a sci-fi blockbuster "I, Robot," showing hundreds of Walker S2 robots lined up neatly in a warehouse where they turn their heads and wave their arms in perfect synchronization before marching in orderly formation into shipping containers.
"Look at the reflections on this bot, then compare them to the ones behind it. The bot in front is real -everything behind it is fake. If you see a head unit reflecting a bunch of ceiling lights, that's a giveaway it's CGI (computer-generated imagery), "Adcock claimed in a post on his X account on November 14.
A screenshot of Brett Adcock's X post.
While skeptics like Adcock still question superficial issues such as whether the videos are "real," the Chinese robotics industry has wooed global investors and netizens in recent years, from the robotic exoskeleton device that assists users in climbing up Taishan Mountain, to Unitree's humanoid robots that manipulate handkerchiefs, a classic element of Yangko dance, in the 2025 Spring Festival Gala.
And the next wave is loading, with China's robotics industry taking a lead in entering a new stage of mass production and application.
UBTech Robotics noted that its Walker S2 delivery will be rolled out in batches to frontline industrial applications, covering key sectors "such as automobile manufacturing, intelligent manufacturing, smart logistics, and embodied-intelligence data centers."The company plans to elevate its annual production capacity for industrial humanoid robots to 5,000 units by 2026 and further expand to 10,000 units by 2027, in response to rapidly growing market demand, the company told the Global Times.
A view of mass delivery of UBTECH Robotics' full-size industrial humanoid robots Walker S2 in November in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: Courtesy of UBTECH Robotics
UBTech said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday that the claim that "the video is to mark a milestone for UBTech… It is 100 percent real footage shot on-site. In response to these unfounded claims, UBTech's official video account has released an unedited, single-take, real-time and original-audio clip that fully demonstrates the authenticity of the scene," the statement noted.
The company also urged critics to "come to China, see the booming development of the humanoid-robotics industry with their own eyes, and get involved in the supply chain themselves."
Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that in some cases, the situation of "willful blindness" could also stem from certain "China doomsayers'" sheer arrogance and prejudice.
"China's robotics industry, as well as other cutting-edge high-tech industries, has developed at a breathtaking pace and delivered remarkable achievements. It is time for critics to set aside their prejudices and confront China's tech rise with an open and objective attitude," Wang said. He also listed a bunch of positive factors that propel China's tech rise, including a complete industrial chain, strong policy support, vibrant open-source cooperation, robust industrial foundation built by the new energy vehicle ecosystem.
