24-03-2025
Should Auto Workers Fear Humanoid Robots or AI?
Mercedes-Benz reveals progress with the integration of robots and AI into car production processes, with both now being tested by the automaker.
The Apptronik Apollo humanoid robot is one of several now being readied by developers for factory and warehouse work, with expectations of a future market for robots of its type for physical work.
AI virtual agents and chatbots are also being integrated into engineering systems, allowing them to quickly diagnose issues with computer code and other systems and offer solutions to engineers.
Tesla may have gotten plenty of publicity for its Optimus robot despite being a relatively late arrival into the humanoid robot genre, but it's far from the only automaker now betting on robots.
Mercedes-Benz is now one of several automakers that see a role for humanoid robots in a car factory setting—an idea that would have seemed whimsical if not laughable a decade ago—and it's now taking steps to further this vision at its Berlin-Marienfelde hub for new production technologies.
The robots are produced by US-based Apptronik, which got its start recently, launching at the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin in 2016. And they're now being tested by Mercedes in a real factory setting.
Mercedes says it is making a a low double-digit-million-euro investment into the startup, seeing a future for humanoid robots in vehicle assembly plants, at least when it comes to repetitive tasks that concern the sorting of parts and boxes within the factory—but perhaps not the splicing of tiny wires in some kind of electrical component. At least not yet.
"Apptronik's Apollo can transport components or modules to the production line for Mercedes-Benz's highly skilled production staff to assemble and conduct initial quality checks on components," the automaker notes.
Mercedes says the next step for Apollo robots will include more autonomous operations, when coupled with AI, that will make them more useful and intelligent helpers within a factory.
Ultimately, there is another side to humanoid robots in factories, and over the past decade or so it has often been summed up with the phrase "job loss to automation."
Mercedes does not shy away from the longer-term potential of robots in factory settings, and even points out that its employees are effectively training their potential, future replacements (or assistants, depending on your viewpoint), using augmented reality and teleoperation systems.
"Mercedes-Benz employees with hands-on production experience have transferred their knowledge to Apollo using teleoperation processes and augmented reality," the automaker says.
At the moment, humanoid robots may not seem like much of a threat to the jobs of auto workers. For one thing, they can't even tie their shoelaces if they were suddenly given a pair of vintage Adidas track shoes for some reason.
But with another decade of development we can't rule it out, and neither should those humans currently employed by automakers and suppliers.
Simultaneously, Mercedes-Benz is also working to integrate AI into its production processes, at least at the level of chatbots and virtual agents. The potential promised by these AI-supported virtual assistants is the ability to quickly and effectively analyze data, Mercedes says, including helping human engineers quickly find reasons for quality deviations during production.
"These AI agents quickly and reliably analyze available data, identify patterns and anomalies, and provide well-founded analyses and suggested solutions at the touch of a button, driving real efficiency gains in production," Mercedes notes.
Mercedes isn't the only automaker that sees a future for AI in software engineering, but it is one that perhaps faces fewer barriers to implementation across a wide range of systems compared to humanoid robots.
At this point it may feel like AI has had a head start on humanoid robots when it comes to tech that could be used by automakers, but those who remember Asimo know that it's a very different picture.
Considered separately, these two technologies may have limited immediate potential to transform a car factory.
But taken together, they could make the inside of an auto plant look very different another decade from now.
Will humanoid robots be common in car factories 10 years from now, or will they remain a relatively niche technology? Please comment below.
