Humanoid Robots Enter German Warehouses as Tougher EU Safety Rules Approach
Published on 07/07/2026 at 23:24 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The humanoid robot Walker S2 can swap its own battery in under three minutes, lift 15 kilograms, and navigate autonomously through a distribution centre. Since March 17, 2026, German drugstore chain Rossmann has been testing the 52-degree-of-freedom machine from China's UBTech at its Burgwedel hub. The price tag: €78,000 to buy, or €4,350 a month to lease.
Yet behind the gleaming demonstrations lies a regulatory and safety challenge that the industry is only now beginning to confront. The Walker S2 is driven by probabilistic AI – its next action may not always be predictable. A reported incident in China, where a robot injured a child, underscores the stakes.
New rules for a new generation of machines
The European Union is stepping in. Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, known as the EU Machinery Regulation, will become binding on 20 January 2027. For the first time, it explicitly covers safety-relevant software and artificial-intelligence components inside machines. In parallel, the International Organization for Standardization is drafting a specific safety standard for humanoid robots, expected by mid-2028.
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Cyber risks amplify the challenge. The NIS2 Directive and Germany's IT Security Act 2.0 are tightening requirements for operators of critical infrastructure. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) reported in its 2025 situation report that 119 new vulnerabilities were registered daily – a 24 percent jump. According to digital-industry association Bitkom, cyber damage in Germany totalled about €289.2 billion in 2025.
Sensors and automation adapt
Technology suppliers are racing to meet the new demands. Swiss startup Sonair has launched the ADAR One, described as the world's first safety-certified 3D ultrasound sensor. It covers a 180-degree field of detection, complies with safety integrity levels SIL2 and Performance Level d, and entered series production after more than 80 robotics companies evaluated a beta version from May 2025.
ABB Robotics is also updating its hardware. The Flexley Stack F712 – an autonomous mobile robot forklift – handles loads up to 2,000 kilograms. It uses AI-powered Visual-SLAM navigation for centimetre-level positioning without floor markers or external beacons.
Fewer companies, higher productivity
The broader industry is consolidating. According to statistics from the Electrical Machinery Association (EMA), presented at the ZVEH annual conference in Warnemünde in late May 2026, the number of EMA-member companies fell from 835 in 2021 to 766 in 2026. Yet productivity per employee rose 20 percent to €183,000. Total sector revenue remained stable at €2.62 billion.
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Workforce shortages are pushing new training pathways. At the BBS Burgdorf vocational school, 11 students earned an IHK certificate as operators for tactile robotics after a half-year extracurricular group. Meanwhile, partnerships such as the one between Durst Group and TUM Venture Labs in Munich are advancing research into novel production systems.
Mass production still years away
A study by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft estimates that broad mass production of humanoid robots will reach market maturity in three to ten years. German startup Neura Robotics targets 6,000 units in 2026, with significant scaling the following year.
But experts at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) caution that reliability for continuous industrial operation still needs substantial improvement in many areas. Human-machine collaboration, they say, remains a technical and regulatory puzzle – and one that the new EU rules will force the industry to solve.
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