These days, it is nearly impossible to separate works of once-speculative fiction from our reality.
One of my favorite video games is Detroit: Become Human, a 2018 decision-based game that takes place in a futuristic world filled with lifelike humanoid robots.
Besides being a game that can have multiple and wildly different endings depending on the decisions you make throughout the game, it is a peek into a world some of the brightest and most optimistic technologists have in mind for our future.
But as the cost of labor increases in manufacturing settings, the lines between fantasy and reality are being blurred as another major automaker is attempting to enhance production capabilities with advanced humanoid robots.
Mercedes-Benz is testing the use of Apollo, a humanoid robot from Apptronik, in production.
Mercedes-Benz
‘The best, or nothing’ [made by robots]
Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has announced that it has begun a trial using humanoid robots on the production line at one of its factories in Germany.
Specifically, these robots are the Apollo robots made by Apptronik, an Austin, Texas-based robotics firm that the automaker invested heavily in back in March 2024.
According to Apptronik, the Apollo robots have “a form factor that roughly matches the size of a human worker.” They are at an average height of five feet, eight inches (68 inches, or roughly 173 centimeters) tall, weigh 160 pounds, and have the ability to lift up to 55 pounds.
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At the Berlin-Marienfelde factory, these robots are initially being used for internal logistics and repetitive tasks, such as moving components and modules to the assembly line for skilled human technicians to install on cars.
They can also be used to make initial quality inspections of parts to be installed on cars on the factory floor, a repetitive task that a human would typically carry out.
Mercedes says that its employees have been involved in training these robots through teleoperation and augmented reality, allowing them to work entirely autonomously and without supervision. Additionally, if the robots run low on power, they are able to walk over to a power source and plug themselves in to recharge.
The Berlin-Marienfelde factory is part of the Mercedes-Benz Digital Factory Campus, a testbed and innovation center for its production facilities. Already, workers at the plant use advanced artificial intelligence technology in the form of a digital factory chatbot that can be used to help workers solve common factory floor problems, as well as machine maintenance issues.
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Other manufacturers are getting robotic
Mercedes is far from the only automaker experimenting with robots on the factory floor. Tesla (TSLA) has been experimenting with further integrating its own Optimus humanoid robots both in its factories and outside with customers.
In August 2024, Bavarian luxury rival BMW did an experiment run of humanoid robots to “save employees from having to perform ergonomically awkward and tiring tasks,”
For several weeks, the automaker conducted a trial run of the Figure 02 humanoid robot from California company Figure. The robot “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.”
In 2024, state-owned Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motors brought an AI-powered robot to its factory, where it also helped with quality inspections and logistics.
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