On September 29, according to Ubtech Technology's official announcement, Shenzhen Ubtech Robotics Corp Ltd's smart logistics subsidiary UQI signed a formal procurement contract with Tianqi Automation Engineering Co., Ltd. Tianqi will purchase Ubtech's Walker S series industrial humanoid robots worth 30 million yuan, with delivery scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2025. Previously, Ubtech had secured a 250 million yuan procurement contract for embodied AI humanoid robot products and solutions from a prominent domestic enterprise.

Currently, the Walker series industrial humanoid robots have entered trial operations in multiple factories. Company representatives stated that they will continue to enhance the mass production capabilities of the Walker series humanoid robots to meet customer delivery requirements and accelerate the advancement of humanoid robots toward real-world scenario applications.

Beyond Ubtech, several other companies have recently announced significant developments in the humanoid robot sector.

In July, Shanghai Zhiyuan Robotics Co., Ltd. and Hangzhou Unitree Robotics Co., Ltd. won the bid for China Mobile's subsidiary "Humanoid Bipedal Robot Manufacturing Service Procurement Project," with a contract value reaching 124 million yuan. In early September, Stardust Intelligence (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. announced a strategic cooperation agreement with Shanghai SEER Robotics Co., Ltd. for thousand-unit level humanoid robots, planning to deploy over a thousand AI robots in industrial manufacturing and warehouse logistics scenarios over the next two years.

The frequent emergence of large-scale orders sends a clear signal: after years of technical validation, humanoid robots are gradually entering a critical phase of large-scale and industrialized applications.

Data from the "2025 Humanoid Robots and Embodied Intelligence Industry Research Report" shows that in 2025, China's embodied intelligence market is expected to reach 5.295 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 27% of the global market; China's humanoid robot market is projected to reach 8.239 billion yuan, representing about 50% of the global market.

"The breakthrough from hundred-unit to thousand-unit level orders indicates that first-tier industry companies have acquired batch delivery capabilities. Order quantities represent both market recognition and are key to driving cost reduction and accelerating scale expansion," said Hong Yong, Associate Researcher at the Chinese Academy of Commerce.

In the process of humanoid robots moving toward large-scale applications, industrial scenarios are considered the most realistic and suitable "testing ground."

National Bureau of Statistics data shows that from January to August, cumulative production of industrial robots reached 512,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 29.9%, demonstrating the accelerating trend of digitalization and intelligent transformation in manufacturing.

Zhou Xiaoling, Director of Enterprise Digital Platform Application Center at Midea Group Co., Ltd., stated in an interview: "First, factory scenarios must be sufficiently diverse to potentially form a self-reinforcing cycle. Second, robot intelligence needs to become increasingly sophisticated, possessing stronger judgment and decision-making capabilities. Finally, through embodied intelligence, we can expand their task breadth, enabling one robot to complete more work and reduce redundant configurations."

Meanwhile, continuous breakthroughs in AI large models, perception algorithms, servo motors, reducers, and other fields have enabled humanoid robots to achieve significant improvements in dexterity, stability, and autonomy.

"Humanoid robots that previously appeared mainly at exhibitions or in laboratories can now undertake specific operations such as component handling, quality inspection, and material circulation. Technological advances combined with declining mass production costs have driven the emergence of large procurement contracts," said Zhang Xiaorong, Director of the Deep Technology Research Institute.

"The deployment of humanoid robots represents not just breakthroughs by individual companies, but a comprehensive industrial chain upgrade from core components to system integration, from software and hardware platforms to complete machine manufacturing. As large-scale applications continue to advance, collaborative innovation across the upstream and downstream supply chain will further strengthen China's voice and competitiveness in the global robotics sector," Zhang noted.

It is foreseeable that industrial scenarios are merely the starting point for humanoid robot commercialization. In the future, with technological progress and cost reduction, humanoid robots are expected to further expand into broader application areas such as healthcare, wellness, and education.