UBTech robot to 'work' in Dongfeng car factory

UBTech Robotics, China’s biggest manufacturer of educational and humanoid robots,  said yesterday that it had reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co. to jointly promote the application of humanoid robots in automotive manufacturing.

According to the agreement inked Friday, Dongfeng Liuzhou will introduce UBTech’s Walker S humanoid service robot into the carmaker’s factory where it will perform a series of automotive manufacturing tasks, such as the inspection of seat belts, door locks, headlight covers, body quality, and rear covers, as well as oil filling, front axle packaging, material collection and picking, labeling, and more.

In addition, the humanoid robot will also collaborate with traditional automation equipment to enable flexible unmanned production in complex scenarios.

A Walker S humanoid robot works on the assembly line of Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co. in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. UBTech Robotics has reached an agreement with Dongfeng Liuzhou to jointly promote the use of humanoid robots in automotive manufacturing. Photo provided by UBTech Robotics

Since the beginning of this year, Shenzhen-based UBTech has focused on key manufacturing areas such as automobiles and 3C (computer, communication, and consumer electronics) products to improve the operation and task execution capabilities of its humanoid robots.

In February, UBTech announced that the Walker S had received “training” at a factory owned by domestic electric vehicle manufacturer NIO Inc.

That was the first time the Walker S had real-world training at a new energy vehicle factory, according to UBTech.

During the training, the Walker S utilized its real-time image capture and transmission capabilities to participate in quality inspections of door locks, seat belts, and headlight covers and was able to affix vehicle logos, according to a video shared by UBTech.

Humanoid robots need to be utilized in the industrial smart manufacturing space, UBTech said. In order to achieve that goal, one of the most important things to do is to get robots into real factory environments to find solutions, the company said.

In April, UBTech announced a strategic cooperation plan with Chinese tech giant Baidu to jointly explore the innovative fusion of artificial intelligence large language models and humanoid robots.