Austin, Texas — On March 15, Apptronik, a leader in next-generation general-purpose robots aimed to simplify work, announced its partnership with Mercedes-Benz to integrate their advanced robots into Mercedes-Benz manufacturing.
As part of this collaboration, Mercedes-Benz is introducing Apollo–touted as one of the world’s most advanced commercial humanoid robots–into its manufacturing facilities with the hope of equipping staff with tools for enhanced productivity and efficiency.
Apollo will be utilized for various tasks such as logistics, delivering parts to the production line, assisting in assembly processes, and inspecting components.
“When we set out to build Apollo, an agreement like the one we’re announcing today with Mercedes-Benz was a dream scenario,” said Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of Apollo.
“Mercedes plans to use robotics and Apollo for automating some low skill, physically challenging, manual labor–-a model use case which we’ll see other organizations replicate in the months and years to come.”
One reason proposed for incorporating humanoid robots into factories and plants is to help automate repetitive, physically demanding and tedious tasks where it is otherwise difficult or dangerous to find workers.
Apollo, designed with dimensions that resemble a human worker, standing at 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds, has the capability to lift objects weighing up to 55 pounds.
These features, alongside the robot’s planned functions, makes Apollo highly adaptable and effective in collaborative work environments, allowing it to engage with human workers and assist in completing tasks efficiently, the press release further noted.
Additionally, Apollo’s computing capabilities open doors for various AI companies to address different problems beyond what Apptronik is initially focusing on.
“To build the most desirable cars we continually evolve the future of automotive production: Advancements in robotics and AI open up new opportunities also for us. We are exploring new
possibilities with the use of robotics to support our skilled workforce in manufacturing,” said Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Production, Quality & Supply Chain Management.
“This is a new frontier and we want to understand the potential both for robotics and automotive manufacturing to fill labor gaps in areas such as low skill, repetitive and physically demanding work and to free up our highly skilled team members on the line to build the world’s most desirable cars.”
