Mercedes tests humanoid robots in factories – 03/18/2024 – Market

Mercedes-Benz is testing humanoid robots for “demanding and repetitive” tasks at one of its factories, as the automaker finds it increasingly difficult to find reliable workers.

Measuring 1.73 meters tall and weighing 72.5 kilos, the Apollo robots, from the Texan group Apptronik, will be used to deliver parts to car assembly lines, as well as to carry out quality inspections. Each model can lift up to 25 kilos.

While the use of large mechanical arms to perform functions such as lifting entire cars or installing some parts is common in the automobile industry, this is one of the first times that human-like robots have been used.

They allow automakers to increase automation in factories without making expensive changes to their layout, as robots can walk through spaces designed for people.

The aim is to perform “physically demanding, repetitive and monotonous tasks for which it is increasingly difficult to find reliable workers”, Mercedes said.

Competitor BMW has started testing some automatons in one of its factories, as has Chinese startup Nio, while Tesla has also said it will build robots for use in factories. Earlier this month, Elon Musk posted a video of his Optimus models carefully walking through a plant, performing some simple functions like folding a t-shirt.

The Mercedes test is being carried out in Hungary, a country facing labor shortages for auto industry jobs, and where unions are less vocal than in Germany.

“We will have to convince the workers and management,” said Mercedes production chief Jörg Burzer, showing a clip of an employee shaking hands with his new robotic colleague.

When taking the first steps to launch the models, he is keen to emphasize that robots will not replace all factory workers.

“For the cars we produce, you need workers, first-class workers to master the complexity, to build these wonderful cars,” he added.

Mercedes and Apptronik, an arm of the University of Texas’ Human Centered Robotics Lab, plan to work on other potential applications for the machines through their partnership.

Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of Apptronik, said: “When we started building Apollo, a deal like the one we’re announcing today with Mercedes-Benz was a dream scenario. Mercedes plans to use robotics and Apollo to automate some of the low-skill, physically challenging manual work — a model use case that we will see other organizations replicate in the coming months and years.”

Replacing expensive workers with robotic alternatives may seem like an attractive way to reduce expenses and improve quality in modern, complex auto factories that have little tolerance for error.

However, there is no guarantee of success. During the Tesla Model 3’s sometimes chaotic production ramp in 2017, the automaker tried to replace as many workers as possible with robotic arms, only to phase them out and reinstate manual functions for many of the processes.