There's A Humanoid Robot At The Mercedes-Benz Plant

       After Boston Dynamics, Ubiquiti, Tesla, and Figure, this humanoid robot has followed the trend of working in auto plants.

Recently, Mercedes-Benz announced that it has reached an agreement with Apptronik, a developer of general-purpose humanoid robots: the two companies will collaborate to explore Apollo, a high-tech robot that focuses on heavy, low-skill labor such as lifting and assembling parts.

Under the agreement, Mercedes-Benz will launch a pilot program to test Apptronik's Apollo humanoid robot's ability to perform a variety of tasks, such as delivering assembly kits to the production line, inspecting parts, and so on, during the vehicle manufacturing process.

Mercedes-Benz said the Apollo robots can replace workers in automating complex, repetitive and boring tasks, reduce employee injuries and further unleash productivity compared to fully upgrading car production lines.

"This robotics model will continue to be rolled out to other businesses in the coming years," said Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of Apptronik.

One of the most talked about humanoid robot products

Let's look at Apptronik first.Founded in 2016 as a lab at the University of Texas at Austin, Apptronik is known for its work on NASA's Valkyrie humanoid robot. Over 10 unique robots have been built in the last decade.

Announced for Apptronik in August 2023, the humanoid robot Apollo is the culmination of the design and development of more than 10 general-purpose robots, including NASA Valkyrie.Apollo has also been named one of the most highly regarded humanoid robotics products. It is expected to be commercialized by 2025, with a proposed price tag of no more than $50,000 USD.

It is understood that the Apollo humanoid robot's main orders come from the U.S. government and the Department of Defense, the research field is mainly focused on the exoskeleton and bipedal movement research and development projects.Apollo is also Apptronik's first commercial humanoid robot products.

In addition, Apptronik created a commercial humanoid torso development platform called Astra in late 2020. Previously, the Astra torso development platform was used to debug the humanoid robot's sensing and grasping capabilities, which were critical to the success of the Apollo humanoid robot.

Apptronik also said that the Apollo humanoid robot has a target release date of the end of 2024, with a one-year wait for actual mass production.

Job roles will evolve over time

Moving on to Apollo, the humanoid robot Apollo is 173 centimeters tall, weighs 73 kilograms, is capable of lifting weights up to 25 kilograms, has a battery life of about four hours, and is positioned to assist employees in industrial environments.

The robot has two arms and legs and "eye" sensors. The robot also has a screen on its chest that displays a variety of information, including the company logo. The robot's "face" is another LED screen that displays digitized "emotions" such as smiley faces, icons or battery charge status.

Being battery-powered, the robot cannot be recharged via cables. However, its battery pack can be changed quickly, reducing equipment downtime when the battery is depleted.

Apollo can operate as a mobile unit. Depending on the task, its torso can also be mounted on a metal post for immobilization tasks.

The humanoid robot Apollo also has sophisticated safety features that allow it to stop immediately when it detects moving objects or people in its "impact zone".

In addition, the robot has software that can be controlled remotely, and according to the company's website, it can even be operated using a device similar to a game controller.

"Apollo's computational power enables leading AI companies to address usage scenarios beyond those that Apptronik will initially support, similar to the concept of the iPhone: world-class, user-friendly hardware with a number of pre-built apps to which third-party developed apps can be added. " Apptronik explains.

Job roles may evolve over time, meaning that Mercedes could use Apollo to inspect vehicle parts, bring parts to the assembly line for human workers to assemble and deliver kits, and other potential use cases to "build the most desirable cars.