Mercedes-Benz has struck a deal with Apptronik to utilize humanoid robots at its assembly lines. The Apollo-series androids will not participate in car production in any direct way, instead handling monotonous and physically demanding tasks that humans would rather avoid.
The startup company pointed out that the agreement with the automaker set the historical precedent for the industrial use of androids. Each Apollo unit has two arms and two legs, is 170 cm (5’7”) tall and weighs 73 kilograms (161 pounds). In other words, they resemble humans in more than just the appearance, which the creator describes as “friendly”. We’ll leave it up to you to decide what they look like, but Apptronik argues that faces like these help minimize negativity from human workers.
For the time being, the androids will solely handle cargo transportation, carrying spare parts from one facility to another. Each bot can walk with up to 25 kilos (55 lbs) in its hands. Another big advantage is that Mercedes would not need to redesign it facilities in any way whatsoever to accommodate the new workers. They will be able to find they way around and carry out menial tasks every bit as well as people.
The developer of the technology claims that the Apollo will eventually ramp up its computational capacities to the point where it would be able to perform more complex tasks, such as quality assurance. The highly qualified personnel currently busy in the QA department would then be relocated to the assembly lines, increasing their productivity, Mercedes claims.