German firm to employ thousands of wheeled humanoid robots in factories under new deal
SMRTR summary
Thousands of wheeled humanoid robots could soon be walking the floors of German auto parts factories, and that's not science fiction. It's the latest deal between UK robotics firm Humanoid and automotive supplier Schaeffler.
The two companies have signed what's described as one of the largest disclosed humanoid robot rollouts to date, targeting a four-digit number of robots across Schaeffler's global facilities by 2032.
The first deployments are set for two German plants beginning late 2026, where robots will handle box logistics in live production environments.
Schaeffler's Chief Operating Officer put it plainly: "By supporting the phased deployment of humanoid systems in real manufacturing environments... we are contributing to the industrial scaling of this technology."
The deal runs on a Robot-as-a-Service model, with Humanoid managing everything from fleet software to around-the-clock support. Schaeffler will also supply actuators for the robots themselves, making this a partnership that runs both ways.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Interesting Engineering.
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