The Gulf is accelerating robot innovation, unveiling early steps toward walking and working humanoids designed to boost efficiency, safety, and economic resilience.
The Middle East’s robotics sector is moving quickly, but the path to deploying fully functional humanoid remains a slow, methodical climb. Despite high-profile deals and rising investment across the region, industry leaders say real-world deployment will take far more engineering, testing, and patience.
Also Read: Ameca: Museum of the Future Upgrades AI Humanoid
In October, China’s Lianhe Sowell signed a $105 million financing agreement to set up its first AI-powered robot manufacturing and R&D hub in the UAE. Around the same time, Riyadh-based QSS AI & Robotics and UK firm Humanoid inked a deal that could deliver up to 10,000 humanoid robots to Saudi Arabia over the next five years.
Globally, companies like UBTech—creator of the Walker robot—and Tesla’s Optimus project are advancing similar efforts. These humanoids are designed to operate in complex environments with minimal human intervention, representing a major leap from today’s highly specialized industrial robots.
However, much of this technology is still in development. Humanoid has yet to release a full production model, though its prototype under the QSS agreement is expected by Q3 2026, said Jochen Rudat, the company’s chief growth and revenue officer. That milestone, he noted, will only mark the beginning.
Once delivered, the machines must undergo extensive customization before entering commercial environments.
“It’s not that a customer buys a robot and simply unpacks it to begin operations,” Rudat said.
Humanoid relies heavily on modelling technology to simulate tasks and validate performance long before it reaches the field. And for now, forget the sci-fi vision of two-legged bots walking among workers — bipedal robots are still “not safe,” Rudat said. Instead, early deployments will rely on wheeled platforms that meet regulatory requirements more easily.
Another challenge lies in the AI itself. Models must be trained to handle edge cases and unpredictable real-world situations. Humanoid has partnered with Nvidia for computing power and simulation, but the process is far from quick.
For QSS, the partnership represents an opportunity to expand its manufacturing capabilities. The company already produces ground and aerial drones and is now “exploring” its production inside its facilities. Humanoid is also discussing local manufacturing plans with Saudi ministries, although details remain under wraps. Still, experts warn against expecting rapid leaps. “Building and deploying humanoid robots locally at scale by 2036 may even be a push,” said Carl Strathearn, a researcher in embodied AI at Edinburgh Napier University.
