Humanoid Robots Building Airplanes: Airbus Buys 6-Figure Robots From UBTech - Forbes
UBTech is targeting a production capacity of 5,000 industrial humanoid robots this year, and 10,000 for 2027, and as of November 2025 said that it had already sold $112 million worth of humanoid robots.
Key takeaways
The most recent developments show humanoid robots moving from high‑profile demos toward large‑scale industrial deployment. At Davos, three robotics experts warned that useful real‑world applications will require better sensors and AI models that can handle unanticipated situations, and they noted that cost‑effective solutions for tasks such as laundry folding remain prohibitively expensive. Hyundai announced a plan to field 30,000 Atlas humanoid robots annually from 2028 at its Georgia EV Metaplant, but the company’s labour union has cautioned that no robots will be installed without a formal agreement, warning of potential employment shocks. In Europe, Airbus has begun testing UBTech’s Walker S2 humanoid—capable of lifting 7.5 kg per hand, hot‑swapping batteries and pivoting 180 degrees—for aircraft assembly, marking the first European purchase of Chinese humanoids. Meanwhile, Chinese firm Agibot, ranked No. 1 globally for embodied intelligence, celebrated the rollout of its 5,168th mass‑produced robot and launched operations in Malaysia, underscoring a 39 % share of the worldwide market. OpenAI quietly expanded a San Francisco robotics lab that now employs about 100 data collectors to teach humanoid arms household tasks, though its humanoid prototype remains largely unused. Ford, partnering with the UK‑based Humanoid company, completed a proof‑of‑concept at its Cologne Innovation Centre, demonstrating wheeled Alpha HMND 01 robots handling tote kitting and dual‑arm manipulation of large car body parts using NVIDIA’s digital‑twin platform. Tesla’s Optimus humanoid is slated to transition from factory prototype to consumer product by the end of 2026, with Elon Musk promising “very high reliability” and a broad range of domestic tasks. Across the sector, analysts note a shift—particularly in China—away from spectacle toward pilots that deliver clear economic value, as manufacturers combine large‑scale embodiment datasets, vision‑language‑action models and robust contact‑rich execution to turn humanoid concepts into commercial reality.
UBTech is targeting a production capacity of 5,000 industrial humanoid robots this year, and 10,000 for 2027, and as of November 2025 said that it had already sold $112 million worth of humanoid robots. If the reported production numbers are correct, that would indicate an average six-figure price tag for each humanoid: $112,000 each. That price should fall quickly as UBTech scales production over the next few years.
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The companies did not announce details of the agreement, including the number of robots purchased or pricing. Almost certainly this is an initial deal for demonstration and testing purposes.
I’ve asked Airbus if the company is also buying and testing humanoid robots from European manufacturers, and will update this story as the company responds. Airbus ordered UBTech’s Walker S2, a full-size humanoid that stands 176 cm tall (5’9"), weighs 70 kg (154 lbs), and walks at about two meters/second (4.5 mph). It has dextrous hands with 11 degrees of freedom and tactile sensors, and can hold 7.5 kg (16.5 lbs) in each hand and 1 kg (2.2 lbs) with each finger.
The Walker S2 can also hot-swap its own batteries, and UBTech said in November of 2025 it was the first humanoid robot to be able to do so. Particularly useful for production environments, the Walker S2 can pivot on its waist almost 180 degrees, enabling it to quickly move components or work on other parts without shifting its feet.
There is an external emergency stop button and power switch, located on the robot’s back. InnovationConsumer Tech
Humanoid Robots Building Airplanes: Airbus Buys 6-Figure Robots From UBTech
ByJohn Koetsier,
Senior Contributor.
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights.
Journalist, analyst, author, podcaster.
Airbus is dipping its toes into the humanoid robot workforce with a purchase of China-based UBTech’s robots, according to Bloomberg. The European airplane manufacturer is apparently going to try to put humanoid robots on the assembly line, as the deal includes a plan to work together with UBTech on integrating robots into the airplane-building process.
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