BMW has deployed humanoids in a German factory, following last year’s US trial of the Figure 02 droid at Spartanburg. In this new project they have used Hexagon‘s AEON.
The car company explained: ‘The deployment in Leipzig is focusing on testing a multifunctional application of [Hexagon’s] AEON’s design, whose human-like body allows a wide range of hand and gripper elements or scanning tools to be flexibly attached and enables dynamic use on wheels.’
They added that later on the Swiss-made AEON droids will be used in the assembly of high voltage batteries and in component manufacturing. Hexagon is perhaps better known for its measurement tech business, but is seriously moving into robotics now – and to have BMW as a trial customer is quite a coup for them.
BMW also noted that this builds on the work in the US with Figure, which ‘demonstrated that physical AI can deliver measurable added value under real-world conditions’.
The car giant observed that: ‘Within ten months, the robot Figure 02 supported the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3, working ten-hour shifts daily from Monday to Friday. Figure 02 handled the precise removal and positioning of sheet metal parts for the welding process – a task that is particularly demanding in terms of speed and accuracy while also being physically exhausting.
‘In total, it moved more than 90,000 components and covered approximately 1.2 million steps in around 1,250 operating hours.’
Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President Production Network, Supply Chain Management at BMW Group, commented: ‘Our aim is to be a technology leader and to integrate new technologies into production at an early stage. Pilot projects help us to test and further develop the use of Physical AI – that is, AI-enabled robots capable of learning – under real-world industrial conditions.
‘The successful first deployment of humanoid robots at our BMW Group plant in Spartanburg in the USA proves that a humanoid robot can function not only under controlled laboratory conditions but also in an existing automotive manufacturing environment.’
Is this a big deal?
BMW is seeing this as all about what they term ‘physical AI’ and is part of a very careful, and gradual, period of experimentation and testing. Moving this into Germany is a big deal, given it’s the home of BMW, and one would assume that German labour unions – which usually work closely with corporate management teams – are watching this very closely.
Last week, Toyota – see TRT story here – announced they were running a humanoid project in Canada. So, that’s two car giants in two weeks.
Overall, although these are small moves, they indicate the beginning of something much broader – the potential wide-scale use of humanoids in manufacturing at some of the largest companies in the world.
As to how labour relations will be considered here, BMW said that: ‘Humanoid robots are viewed as a value-adding complement to existing automation. Particularly, they demonstrate potential in monotonous, ergonomically demanding, or safety-critical tasks. The goal is to relieve employees and further improve working conditions.’
Exciting times for the robotics world, although quite clearly the robot vs human labour aspect is already part of the debate here.
—
AEON Specs:
Discover more from The Robot Times
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.