Mercedes is Trialing Humanoid Robots For 'Low Skill, Repetitive' Tasks

Mercedes-Benz is the latest automotive company to trial how humanoid robots could be used to automate 'low skill, physically challenging, manual labor.' From a report: On Friday, robotics company Apptronik announced it had entered into a commercial agreement with Mercedes to pilot how 'highly advanced robotics' like Apollo -- Apptronik's 160-pound bipedal robot -- can be used in manufacturing. The news follows a similar pilot announced by BMW in January.

Apptronik says that Mercedes is exploring use cases like having Apollo inspect and deliver components to human production line workers. Neither company has disclosed any figures for the agreement or how many Apollo robots are being trialed. According to Apptronik, humanoid robots would allow vehicle manufacturers to start automating manufacturing tasks without having to redesign their existing facilities. The company says its approach instead 'centers on automating some physically demanding, repetitive and dull tasks for which it is increasingly hard to find reliable workers.'

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