Humanoid robots are coming into the workforce. Following within the footsteps of Figure 01 at BMW and Digit in Amazon’s R&D facility, Apptronik’s Apollo bot helps expert human employees construct vehicles for Mercedes-Benz.
According to Goldman Sachs, the worldwide humanoid industrial robotic market may attain US$38 billion by 2035, with analysts noting that “humanoids are notably interesting for duties which might be ‘harmful, soiled and uninteresting.'” The workforce additionally means that prospects may even pay a premium for robots that may undertake harmful duties that people are usually not so eager on, akin to nuclear reactor upkeep.
But such perils are unlikely to greet Apollo throughout the Mercedes pilot introduced on Friday, the place the auto maker is trying to relieve its employees of humdrum tedium, repetitive duties and bodily demanding workloads.
“We are exploring new potentialities with the usage of robotics to assist our expert workforce in manufacturing,” mentioned Jörg Burzer from the Mercedes-Benz Group. “This is a brand new frontier and we need to perceive the potential each for robotics and automotive manufacturing to fill labor gaps in areas akin to low talent, repetitive and bodily demanding work and to unlock our extremely expert workforce members on the road to construct the world’s most fascinating vehicles.”
Apollo is the newest in nearly a dozen robotic techniques developed by University of Texas at Austin spin-out tech firm, Apptronik. The modular humanoid was launched in August final 12 months.
Apptronik
The Mercedes mannequin includes a sculpted however clean face with LED eyes and a sensor array unibrow. The massive ol’ hole by the top seems to have been stuffed in with a grille, and the chest now shows a three-pointed star as a substitute of an OLED interface. Apollo stands 5.67 ft (172.72 cm) in peak, and weighs in at 160 lb (73 kg).
The humanoid is ready to heft a great deal of as much as 55 lb (25 kg) at a time utilizing highly effective arms ending in succesful five-digit palms, for so long as its swappable battery can energy its techniques – about 4 hours per pack – with Apptronik saying that “a novel power management structure” makes for secure operation round human employees.
The Financial Times experiences that the Apollo pilot is happening at a Mercedes manufacturing facility in Hungary, the place there is a labor scarcity within the auto trade. The firm will look into completely different use instances for the robotic helper on the manufacturing line, together with delivering elements and equipment totes to employees on the manufacturing unit ground whereas concurrently inspecting the components.
“Mercedes plans to make use of robotics and Apollo for automating some low talent, bodily difficult, handbook labor – a mannequin use case which we’ll see different organizations replicate within the months and years to return,” mentioned Apptronik CEO and co-founder, Jeff Cardenas.
Exactly how lengthy the pilot will final and what number of Apollo humanoids are being trialed by Mercedes haven’t been revealed.
Source: Apptronik