‘It is fake’: US robotics firm Figure CEO questions authenticity of China’s humanoid robots marching video

"Look at the reflections on this bot, then compare them to the ones behind it. The bot in front is real – everything behind it is fake," Adcock wrote on social media, adding that reflections of ceiling lights on the robots’ heads were "a giveaway it’s CGI."

Adcock’s criticisms followed the November release of the Shenzhen-based company’s video, which featured hundreds of Walker S2 humanoid robots standing in formation, turning their heads in unison, waving their arms, and walking into shipping containers, the South China Morning Post reported.

In response to Adcock’s post, UBTECH quickly defended the footage, saying it was "100 percent real footage shot on-site" and created to mark "a milestone for UBTECH." The company later released a follow-up unedited video filmed with a first-person-view drone and raw ambient audio.

Despite the clarification, Adcock remain unconvinced. UBTECH’s chief brand officer, Tan Min, said the skepticism reflects "a lack of understanding" of China’s manufacturing strength and its advanced robotics ecosystem.

"Critics should come to China and see for themselves the vibrant growth in the humanoid robotics sector and engage directly with the industry chain," Tan said.

According to Interesting Engineering, UBTECH plans to deploy its Walker S2 robots across industries such as automotive assembly, smart manufacturing, logistics, and emerging embodied-AI data centers. The company aims to produce 5,000 industrial humanoid robots annually by 2026 and double that to 10,000 units by 2027.