KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 3): Malaysian controlled environment agriculture (CEA) company Agroz AgTech Sdn Bhd is partnering with Chinese robotics firm UBTech to roll out the use of humanoid robots at its vertical farms.

The collaboration involves integrating UBTech’s industrial-grade humanoid robots, such as the Walker S2 model already utilised in automotive manufacturing by companies like BYD and Zeekr, into Agroz’s farming ecosystem.

Agroz CEO Gerard Lim described the initiative as a two-year "journey" with actual field deployment of the robots expected in 2026.

Lim acknowledged that while industrial humanoid robots currently command a high initial capital expenditure, the long-term unit economics are compelling for scalable indoor farming.

He argued that once humanoid robots become cheaper and accessible, they will become more cost-efficient than human labour over a two-to-three-year cycle, particularly when factoring in rising salaries and the ancillary costs of hiring foreign workers, such as housing.

The primary advantage, however, lies in productivity gains through continuous operation.

"The robot could potentially work 24 hours, seven days a week. Productivity would be double, if not triple," Lim said, noting that this allows human staff to shift towards more cognitive, managerial tasks while robots handle repetitive, menial, or risky labour.

Lim was speaking at a press conference on the partnership between Agroz and UBTech and the subsequent launch of Agroz Robotics held at the Equatorial Hotel earlier on Wednesday.

In the initial phase, the robots will be deployed for constant monitoring. They will utilise advanced camera systems, potentially equipped with spectrometers, to see in infrared or ultraviolet ranges to collect data on plant health that human eyes might miss.

They will also handle in-house logistics, such as moving seedlings and materials around the farm floor.

More complex tasks requiring high dexterity, such as pruning and harvesting, are planned for later stages as the robotics technology matures.

Agroz will also customise the software to train the robots, integrating them into their proprietary "Agroz OS", which already uses artificial intelligence (AI) agents to manage farm conditions in simulators.

The robots are intended for deployment in Agroz’s future large-scale projects. Lim revealed the company is currently working on an indoor farm in Kuala Lumpur and is pursuing expansion opportunities in Indonesia, Johor (to serve the Singapore market), and Gulf countries including the UAE and Oman.

Currently, Agroz operates hydroponic vertical farms growing a variety of produce, including leafy greens and premium vegetables like kale and baby spinach.

Lim emphasised that their produce is pesticide-free, certified myGAP.PF or Malaysia Good Agricultural Practices and priced at parity with standard supermarket vegetables despite the higher costs of indoor farming.