The works of fiction are becoming our new reality.
In video games like Detroit: Become Human and movies like Ex Machina and I, Robot, lifelike humanoid robots fill in the gaps where humans can’t, and in their respective works, play a role in “taking over” humankind in the process.
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As labor costs eek into automakers’ bottom lines and organizing efforts by the UAW ramp up, lifelike humanoid robots are becoming a new reality on production lines.
Though manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Chinese state-owned automotive firm Dongfeng Motor Corporation have experimented with robots on their factory floors, another automaker is inching closer to the novel technology replacing human work.
Extra hands on the factory floor
In a recent announcement, German luxury automaker BMW said it is exploring the use of humanoid robots in auto production roles at its factories for the first time.
BMW said that for several weeks, the automaker conducted a trial run of the Figure 02 humanoid robot from California company Figure, one of the most advanced robots of its kind, at its plant in Spartanburg, S.C.
Brett Adcock, the founder and CEO of Figure, touted that his robots use artificial intelligence (AI) to self-correct themselves and learn new tasks.
“Figure 02 has significant technical advancements, which enable the robot to perform a wide range of complex tasks fully autonomously,” Adcock said.
BMW Group Plant Spartanburg and California robotics company Figure test the use of humanoid robots in production
BMW
The Spartanburg plant produces some of BMW’s bestselling and profitable SUV models. Currently, the 11,000 workers at the plant produce the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM SUV models.
According to BMW, 60% of its 1,500 vehicle daily output is shipped abroad to 120 countries worldwide.
So what job did BMW task the Figure 02 robot to do? According to the automaker, it “successfully inserted sheet metal parts into specific fixtures, which were then assembled as part of the chassis,” a job that requires workers to be “particularly dexterous.”
With testing complete, BMW says that no robots are currently on the factory floor. The automaker sees the benefit in having robots that can “save employees from having to perform ergonomically awkward and tiring tasks,” however, it is currently reviewing its data from the test to determine what roles these androids could have at the plant.
“With an early test operation, we are now determining possible applications for humanoid robots in production,” BMW Board of Management for Production Member Milan Nedeljković said. “We want to accompany this technology from development to industrialization.”
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UAW angle
BMW’s robotic tests come as the Spartanburg plant is in the middle of the United Auto Workers’ organizing campaign.
The UAW is currently in the middle of an organizing drive that seeks to cover nearly 150,000 autoworkers across 13 automakers, including Honda, Hyundai, Lucid, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen.
In April, workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tenn., plant voted in an overwhelming majority to join the UAW, effectively becoming the first foreign-owned auto plant in the South to unionize.
However, in May, workers at Mercedes’ Alabama factory voted 2,642 to 2,045 against union representation. Despite this, UAW president Shawn Fain said the campaign brought momentum and some substantial change.
“These courageous workers reached out to us because they wanted justice. They led us. They led this fight. And what happens next is up to them,” Fain said. “Justice isn’t just about one vote or one campaign. It’s about getting a voice and getting your fair share.”
“Workers won serious gains in this campaign. Don’t lose sight of that. The UAW bump, they killed wage tiers. They got rid of a CEO that had no interest in improving. Mercedes is a better place thanks to this campaign and these courageous workers.”
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Attack of the Robots
BMW is far from alone in employing advanced humanoid robots in its manufacturing facilities.
In March 2024, Mercedes-Benz began a partnership with Austin, Texas-based Apptronik. Their similar Apollo robots feature human-like faces and will find a home on the luxury automaker’s production lines.
As per their joint press release, the robots are employed to free up menial roles on the line so humans can pay attention to more critical jobs.
“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,” Jörg Burzer, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Production, Quality & Supply Chain Management Board Member, said.
Alternatively, Tesla TSLA claimed in a June 2024 post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that it currently has two Optimus humanoid robots working autonomously in its factory.
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