Humanoid robots may soon be a feature of BMW Manufacturing’s assembly lines after successful tests at Plant Spartanburg, the company announced Aug. 6.
The project is a partnership between BMW Manufacturing and California-based robotics company Figure, which tested its latest generation Figure 02 over several weeks this summer.
The robot was tasked with inserting sheet metal parts into specific fixtures, a process which requires a high level of precision and dexterity, according to BMW’s announcement.
Figure deployed two robots to Plant Spartanburg, with one performing most of the trial tasks, according to Steve Wilson, a spokesman for BMW Manufacturing.
BMW is exploring the use of humanoid robots in vehicle production, particularly in tasks that are ergonomically awkward and tiring for humans. The Figure robots are no longer at Plant Spartanburg, and BMW said it had no definite timetable for bringing robots back to the plant. According to Figure, Figure 02 is the first commercially viable, AI-driven, humanoid robot capable of fully autonomous function performing human-like tasks.
According to BMW, the trial provided valuable information about how to integrate robots into an existing production process. The two companies will continue to collaborate to develop Figure robots for future applications.
