BMW Tests Advanced Humanoid Robot for Future Automotive Production: A Leap into AI and Automation

Automotive companies have been using robots in their work for several decades, but currently they are mostly fixed arms that are pre-programmed for a single activity. In the future, however, humanoid robots that resemble people in their structure should appear in car factories.

Tesla, for example, is working on the development of such a robot, but recently a similar robot appeared in the production of BMW. In particular, it was the robot Figure 02 from the Californian company Figure, which was tested at the North American plant of the Spartanburg car company.

During several weeks of test work, the robot was tasked with placing sheet metal parts of the chassis into special holders, which were then assembled. At the same time, it was supposed to be a job that required skill. The use of a robot should then relieve workers from demanding and uncomfortable physical activities.

The Figure 02 robot, which according to the manufacturer is one of the most advanced humanoid robots in the world, has hands the size of human hands and has human-like strength. Thanks to several sensors, it can perform human-like actions, including dynamic manipulation, complex grasps, and able to position objects with millimeter precision.

“Developments in the field of robotics are very promising. As a result of the initial test work, we are now investigating how humanoid robots could be used in production. We want to support this technology from development to business,” said Milan Nedeljković, BMW board member responsible for production. However, the automaker did not set a timetable.