Robots at the Border: China’s Big Move to Automate Border Control with Non-Human Workers
On 25 November 2025, Chinese robotics firm UBTech Robotics announced it had secured a US$37 million (264 million yuan) contract to deploy humanoid robots at border crossings between China and Vietnam — marking one of the first serious attempts to use “AI Employees” at international checkpoints.
Why This Deal Matters
- The deal will use UBTech’s industrial-grade Walker S2, described as the world’s first humanoid robot capable of autonomously replacing its own battery — a crucial feature for continuous operation at busy border posts.
- The pilot plan envisions these “Voice AI Agents” and “Non-Human Workers” performing tasks like guiding travelers, managing personnel flow, patrolling border areas, handling logistics, conducting inspections, and delivering commercial services — functions traditionally performed by human border staff.
- Deliveries are expected to begin in December 2025.
What It Reflects About Broader Industry Trends
This contract is not just a one-off experiment: it signals a growing push to bring humanoid robots out of the lab and into real-world infrastructure and public service — from border control to factories and cargo logistics. According to UBTech, cumulative orders for the Walker series have reached over one billion yuan, and the company plans to ramp up production by a factor of 10 within the next year, aiming for as many as 10,000 units by 2027.
Lower production costs and economies of scale make the deployment of AI Employees increasingly feasible outside narrow factory settings — which could reshape how governments and industries approach staffing for routine, repetitive, or high-throughput tasks.
What’s Next: What to Watch For
The coming months will test whether these robots can reliably handle complex, human-facing tasks at border crossings. Success could encourage not only broader domestic rollout inside China, but also adoption of similar “robotic border agents” in other countries — fundamentally changing how we think about immigration control, border security, and even the concept of “public service workers”. If the Walker S2 performs well under real-world conditions, this may mark one of the first large-scale deployments of autonomous humanoid robotics in civil infrastructure.
Key Highlights:
- UBTech signed a US$37 M contract on 25 Nov 2025 to deploy humanoid robots at China–Vietnam border crossings.
- Deployment of Walker S2 — the first humanoid robot able to self-replace its battery — will begin December 2025.
- Robots will help with traveller guidance, crowd/patrol management, logistics, inspections, and commercial services.
- UBTech aims to massively scale production of humanoid robots, targeting 10,000 units by 2027.
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