Juan Galvis, Head of Advanced Robotics, Robot.com (formerly) Kiwibot
Robots capable of human-like movements and tasks known as humanoids are growing in popularity in the manufacturing industry, with companies like Schaeffler, Amazon and Microsoft already using them to handle material transport, spare part kit assembly and tote handling.
According to ABI research, 53% of manufacturing companies are now in the early stages of robot adoption. Humanoids have the potential to take on a wide variety of repetitive and dangerous tasks, reducing risks for humans, improving the accuracy of a variety of processes, and making the factory a safer and more streamlined environment.
As exciting as it sounds, there are still major challenges standing in the way of widescale robot integration. These include the accessibility and cost of rare earth metals, necessary for the creation of strong, efficient, and compact actuators needed; , compatibility issues with existing hardware and software; poor real-world data availability and cost (one robot can cost between $30,000 and $150,000).
So how do manufacturers prepare to embrace the humanoid transition in a safe, practical and cost-efficient way?
Ensure Staff, Stakeholder and Partner Buy-In
Before starting on the robot integration journey itself, it’s critical to ensure that all factory staff are onboard, including senior management, IT experts, engineers and factory workers. Emphasis should be placed on the benefits and payoffs of supporting such a transition, including a safer work environment, fewer repetitive and labor-intensive tasks, and opportunities for career growth and upskilling.
A clear change management strategy should be developed and shared, with an emphasis on training and ongoing support, so that no staff member fears being left behind. If employees feel anxious about falling behind or becoming redundant, they may start to look elsewhere, or resist the process as a whole.
In terms of stakeholders, ROI projections, timelines, staff transition plans and risk prevention strategies will need to be clearly laid out in order to ensure ongoing investment and support throughout the project.
Suppliers and logistics partners will also need to be kept in the loop on shared goals and important deadlines, as well as understanding how their role and relationship with the manufacturer is likely to change and evolve with robot usage.
Assess Factory Needs and Compatibility
When considering including robots in the factory setting, manufacturers should ask themselves which processes could be improved or streamlined with humanoid integration, as well as which tasks could be automated to make the factory environment safer and protect the business from future staff shortages.
Selecting the humanoid design will depend entirely on the functions that need to be carried out. Manufacturers should consider aspects like dexterity, payload capacity and speed of movement, as well as whether the humanoid will be assigned specific, repetitive tasks or will be needed for a wider variety of functions. For instance, Apptronik’s humanoid robot, Apollo, has been designed to be modular, and can be adapted for different roles and environments.
It is also important to keep in mind that humanoids depend on a stable and predictable control space to operate reliably. The environment should be set up to minimize unpredictability, allowing robots to perform consistent actions without ambiguity or obstacles, which could lead to errors or failure. Humanoids also require allocated spaces for charging, as well as safe zones (where only robots operate, and humans are not allowed), and human-robot handover areas.
A comprehensive layout and safety assessment should be carried out to ensure the factory environment is fit for purpose, or whether a new factory setting needs to be considered before the transition can take place.
Besides physical infrastructure, digital compatibility must also be assessed. This involves evaluating whether or not existing IT systems and operational technology can integrate with robotic platforms, or if middleware or cloud connectivity will need to be installed to connect different systems. Besides this, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and liability insurance will need to be taken into account.
Build High Quality Data Sets
Robotic technology thrives on detailed, multimodal datasets. When humanoids are fine-tuned with factory-specific data, they’re able to adapt intelligently to unique workflows, layouts and requirements. Factories should begin collecting and curating such data in the following forms before starting on the physical robot integration process:
Visual Data: Camera footage should be collected from various angles (RGB and depth), which helps robots to detect and recognize objects and understand spatial layouts.
Sensor Data: Force, torque, LiDAR and temperature inputs should be recorded to assist in training robots to adapt handling of materials, allowing for safer interactions with humans.
Motion logs: Recordings of various robot paths help to support fine tuning and troubleshooting.
Operator demonstrations: Human movements and actions recorded with video or sensor are useful in assisting robots to learn via imitation.
The data collected for robot training purposes should always comply with data governance requirements, ensuring that all information is stored and used ethnically, and is encrypted where necessary.
Keep Humans Front and Centre
By 2030, it’s predicted that over 80% of humans will have some level of interaction with robots on a daily basis, so the sooner humans learn to work with humanoids safely, efficiently and confidently, the better.
Before humanoid integration can begin, it’s crucial to develop and roll out a comprehensive skills gap assessment for staff, as well as practical, hands-on training in areas like robotics, programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and AI technology. Incentive programmes for staff who take initiative and upskill significantly will help to keep employees motivated and engaged throughout the transition.
As robot integration is a costly and disruptive process, it’s best to start with small pilot projects and scale gradually. Creating a task force dedicated to working with the humanoids will help to iron out potential issues, identify safety concerns, and gather employee feedback before implementing large-scale integration projects.
Making use of the ‘human-in-the-loop’ strategy, where humans monitor robots and step in when ambiguity and unexpected issues arise, is a tried-and-true method that builds trust and ensures safety, especially in high-stakes or high-risk environments. By empowering staff to act as supervisors and teachers, rather than just as operators, they learn how to monitor, guide and refine robotic behaviour, rather than simply observing it from a distance.
When preparing a factory for humanoid robot integration, the priority is to create a human-robot workflow that’s collaborative, safe and sustainable in the long term, enhancing productivity for the manufacturer while supporting, empowering and celebrating the staff that make it all possible.
