BMW’s South Carolina Plant Is Going To Start Using Humanoid Robot Workers

The fascination with humanoid robots is growing stronger. Figure AI, a company based in Sunnyvale, California, has entered into a partnership with BMW Manufacturing to conduct testing of its 01 humanoid at the car maker’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. This is a significant achievement for Figure, a company that was established in 2022 and emerged from stealth mode in early 2023.

BMW Manufacturing has a workforce of 11,000 individuals, all working at its expansive 8 million-square-foot campus. The Spartanburg plant is responsible for assembling a wide range of BMW vehicles, including the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM Sports Activity Vehicles and Coupes, along with their various models. According to BMW, the Spartanburg facility holds the title of being the largest automotive exporter in the U.S. Over the course of 30-plus years, it has successfully assembled more than 6.3 million BMWs.

Figure referred to this as a deal based on milestones. During the initial phase, the company has been diligently identifying the initial tasks that its robot could potentially perform. Brett Adcock, the founder and CEO of Figure, mentioned that the initial tasks involve handling the movement of bins, boxes, and other logistical tasks within the BMW body shop.

While Adcock wouldn’t reveal the number of humanoids being used, a BMW spokesperson told The Robot Report that in these first stages it “will have one robot for technical evaluation.” If all goes well, the tasks and number of humanoids at the BMW plant would likely increase.

According to Adcock, Figure has set a goal to begin commercially carrying out these initial tasks by the end of 2024.

However, BMW told The Robot Report, “we are still experimenting on how robots like this can be used, and it’s exciting to get on the ground floor of this new technology. We have some work packages currently under way. No timetable has been established.”

BMW has announced that it is currently exploring the potential applications of humanoid robots in select areas.

“A humanoid robot can manipulate objects of varying complexity, and some objects may require that two ‘hands’ be used versus a gripper,” noted the automaker. “The humanoid robot has the potential to address our current ergonomic topics versus traditional robots, because it offers a wider range of ambidexterity and mobility.”

Meet @Figure_robot, a leader in the race to build commercially viable humanoid robots.

For episode 20 of S³, we got the world’s first close up look at what they’re building. pic.twitter.com/MVxpMXIOOU

— Jason Carman (@jasonjoyride) December 3, 2023