Carmaker BMW to trial humanoid robots at German factory

The BMW car logo is shown in Munich, Germany on March 20, 2019. (Matthias Schrader / AP Photo)

MUNICH - German carmaker BMW said Friday it plans to deploy two AI-powered humanoid robots in a factory in a pilot programme for the first time this year.

Dubbed AEON and developed by the Swedish company Hexagon, the black-and-white robots stand 1.65 metres (5.4 feet) tall, weigh 60 kg (132 pounds) and move on two wheels.

They can autonomously manipulate and move components within a factory where the space has been previously fully scanned and digitised.

A months-long pilot phase will start this summer in a plant in Leipzig, with employees working alongside the vaguely human-like robots.

The robot “has a full awareness of its environment” thanks to 22 sensors and various types of cameras, said Arnaud Robert, president of Hexagon Robotics.

Robert declined to disclose the price of the robots, but said it was in the hundreds of thousands of euros.

The AI-powered robot is “intelligent enough to generate its own decisions” and operate “in a manufacturing environment”, said Milan Nedeljkovic, BMW’s incoming chairman and the current head of production.

During a demonstration at a BMW workshop in Munich, the robot could be seen navigating toward a car and scanning the front door of the vehicle using a device.

Another demonstration showed the robot retrieving a part from a person before handing it back a few metres away.

The robot’s battery life is about three hours, but the Swedish developer said the robots can replace their own battery in about 30 seconds using a charging station.

Germany’s once-mighty car industry, faced with fierce Chinese competition, has been struggling to maintain competitive advantages and match Chinese innovations.

During a visit to China on Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was shown an impressive coordinated performance of humanoid robots designed by the Chinese company Unitree, aimed at showcasing Beijing’s rapid technological progress.

In Europe, factory automation using robotics and AI has raised concerns about potential job losses.

The BMW Group’s head of digitisation, Michael Stroebel, said on Friday that it is “not planned currently to reduce the workforce” by replacing workers with new robots.