Humanoids or robots designed to look and move like people, are beginning to take on real-world jobs in industrial settings. From warehouses to car manufacturing plants, companies are experimenting with robots that walk on two legs and use AI to make decisions.
Leading logistics company GXO is currently testing:
- Digit from Agility Robotics
- Apollo from Apptronik
- Reflex Robotics’ unnamed humanoid
Humanoids Take on Real Jobs
These humanoids are being piloted in real warehouse environments with early-stage tasks like moving containers and interacting with other robotic systems.
“We are going really broad and aggressive on the category,” said GXO’s Adrian Stoch. “It’s because of where we see this going.”
From Warehouse to Factory Floor
Many of the early adopters of humanoids are auto manufacturers. These facilities are already highly automated, making humanoids a natural progression.
Examples include:
- Ford, Agility’s first customer in 2020
- BMW, which used Figure’s humanoids to insert metal parts into car chassis
- Hyundai, which acquired Boston Dynamics in 2021 for $1.1 billion
Retailers like Amazon are also piloting humanoids like Digit in their warehouses.
Why Humanoids Make Sense—Sometimes
Benjamin Lawrence from CB Insights pointed out that humanoids are best suited to structured environments like warehouses and factories. Homes are more complex.
