Terminator incoming - Surreal humanoid robots are set to begin border patrol duties between China and Vietnam

[OnlinePoker]

China is about to send humanoid robots to work at a busy border with Vietnam. UBTECH Robotics has won a $37 million contract, to deploy its Walker S2 machines there starting this month.

The assignment is led by UBTECH Robotics Corp., a Shenzhen-based company that builds full-size humanoid robots for industry and public services.

Its engineers focus on embodied intelligence, which is artificial intelligence that controls a physical robot body, so these machines can handle messy, real-world environments.

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1q0b5my/surreal_humanoid_robots_are_set_to_begin_border/

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We already have drones making targeting decisions. What could possibly go wrong with this development? /s

[Tetrachloride]

1. Vietnam is sure to be thrilled.

The obvious question— why that particular border ?

[Volaris]

2. Lol because China has wanted to conquer SE Asia since Kublai Khan ruled it.

And it's been pretty much un-invadable since then.

[dalton99a]

3. Because the Vietnamese would love to live in China.

NOT

[OC375]

4. I saw this movie already

I think G n' R did a song for one of the sequels.

[Renew Deal]

5. I saw something about them already operating on the border with India.

[Tetrachloride]

8. that's a big "hmm"

[Baitball Blogger]

6. Drone delivered micro-burst in 3, 2, 1...

[3825-87867]

7. Not to worry...

the Batatut will take care of any Chinese interlopers.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. Their duties:

The pilot programme will deploy Walker S2 robots at border checkpoints to guide travellers, manage personnel flow, assist with patrol duties, handle logistics tasks, and support commercial services, the SCMP report said. In addition to immigration-related operations, the robots will also be used at manufacturing sites for steel, copper, and aluminium to conduct inspections.

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/ubtech-secures-us37-million-deal

South China Morning Post, behind paywall: https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3334081/ubtech-wins-us37-million-deal-deploy-humanoid-robots-china-vietnam-border-crossings
"handle logistics tasks" could mean almost anything - "fetch a chair", for instance. So could "support commercial services". "Conduct inspections" could mean a lot. This could be little beyond a robot saying "desk number 2, please" to a queue.