Robot boss admits machines solely half as environment friendly as people – and solely at sure duties
Top Chinese manufacturer hopes its humanoids will be 80% as good as people next year but at the moment they’re not really close
Robots are only half as good as us – for now(Image: Getty Images)
Robots are only half as efficient as human workers, a top Chinese tech guru has admitted. Michael Tam, whose firm UBTECH makes humanoids, said its latest Walker S2 bots were just 30% to 50% as productive as humans.
And that is only in certain tasks like stacking boxes and quality control. That has not stopped companies around the world rushing to order them fearing they could lose out in the tech revolution to competitors.
The Chinese Government has backed humanoids and encouraged their deployment in factories in hope they will prove their worth in industrial settings.
The nation accounted for more than half of global installations of industrial robots in 2024 – largely machines such as mechanical arms, according to the International Federation of Robotics.
Supporters say AI bots’ ability to move between production lines makes them deployable in a wider range of scenarios than traditional machines.
Elon Musk has touted Tesla’s efforts to build its Optimus robot and predicted a future of fully-automated factories.
But analysts have given mixed reactions to UBTECH promotional videos showing its bots carrying boxes between production lines and replacing their own batteries.
Unlike robot arms or conveyor belts, detractors say humanoids need independent power supplies, have a larger number of complex moveable joints and engage in tasks requiring more advanced decision-making.
Tam, Shenzhen-based UBTECH’s chief brand officer, said the company had hoped to develop a multi-functional hand as current models need humans to switch them to perform different tasks.
But in handshake tests the bots failed to respond at several points without human prompting. UBTECH has said it hopes to boost its robot’s performance to 80% of a human’s by next year.
The company said it delivered 500 humanoid factory robots last year and aims to produce 10,000 by the end of 2026 after signing an agreement with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus to supply the Walker S2.
Airbus said the relationship was at a ‘very early concept testing phase’ and it was ‘discussing potential future collaborations with various innovative companies in the industry’.
Tam said future generations of bot would benefit from data collected in factories where they are currently deployed.
“The more human robots that could be deployed into the real world the more real data could be collected,” he said. “And then, like a circle, it will help human robots grow.”
Marco Wang, a tech researcher based at Interact Analysis in Shanghai, said UBTECH’s targets were ‘very ambitious’ noting most humanoid deployments in China were in government-sponsored research centres.
“That doesn’t really mean anything about commercial operations,” he said.
But Kelvin Lau, an analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets said UBTECH’s goals were feasible and humanoids could be useful in factories not initially designed for automation.
He said 80% human efficiency might be enough for some factories given robots do not need to take breaks or holidays.
