Humanoid robots one tiny step closer to exterminating autoworkers' jobs
- Reference: 1774868415
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/30/humanoid_automotive_robots/
- Source link:
Humanoid worked with SAP and automotive parts supplier Martur Fompak to demonstrate that its HMND 01 Alpha Wheeled robot – a torso with arms mounted on a wheeled platform – is fit for warehouse work.
The robot was set up to handle a logistics picking workflow. The task involved receiving instructions from the SAP AI agent, navigating across the work area to the selected pallet, fetching the appropriate [1]KLT box , and putting it on a trolley. The company claims that repeating the task as part of the order-fulfillment flow shows the bot is fit for purpose.
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HMND 01 Alpha Wheeled robot
During this test, the robot relied on Humanoid's [3]KinetIQ stack, which is designed to orchestrate multiple robots, and SAP Business AI.
The Humanoid robot was linked to SAP's API using the SAP Joule agent layer. This enabled the robot to receive tasks over the internet from the SAP Extended Warehouse Management system.
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The test ran from January to February, encompassing the development of the robot, in-house testing, site preparation, and deployment. Those involved say that the robot performed well and demonstrated that it could handle three different tote types within an 8 kg dual-arm payload limit.
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Dr Lukasz Ostrowski, who runs SAP SE's embodied AI and robotics group, described the project as a shift in the way robots can address business needs.
"This proof of concept in the manufacturing industry allows us to demonstrate how humanoid robots can act as extensions of an organization's operations by providing business context awareness and integration with existing workflows," he said in a statement.
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Artem Sokolov, founder and CEO of Humanoid, hailed the test as a demonstration that humanoid robots can operate in production environments while connected to real enterprise systems.
"That's the bridge between experimentation and deployment," he said.
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It's a bridge that may be longer than it appears. Last year, when the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) looked at the state of humanoid robots, the organization concluded that various obstacles remain before humanoid forms become more practical than traditional industrial robots.
One such barrier is cost. In its position [12]paper [PDF], "Humanoid Robots: Vision and Reality," the IFR said that the high cost of materials and components and the complexity of design and programming "renders [humanoid robots] unaffordable for cost-effective operations."
There will be more of them over the next five to ten years, but economies of scale will need to improve – not to mention safety, battery life, and dexterity – before humanoid robots become practical.
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"Humanoids are not expected to replace the types of robots currently on the market," the IFR said. "Instead, they will complement and expand upon existing technology, such as industrial robots and AMRs [autonomous mobile robots], while also introducing new ways of programming robots." ®
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[1] https://www.evopack.net/en/products/stackable-boxes/automotive-klt-boxes/
[2] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/30/humanoid_automotive_robots/undefined
[3] https://thehumanoid.ai/introducing-kinetiq/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2acqeKFRwZZENnLAOR17k8AAAAgw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acqeKFRwZZENnLAOR17k8AAAAgw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33acqeKFRwZZENnLAOR17k8AAAAgw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/26/greg_kroahhartman_ai_kernel/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/26/anthropic_tweaks_usage_limits/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/26/ai_coding_assistant_not_more_secure/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/26/github_ai_training_policy_changes/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acqeKFRwZZENnLAOR17k8AAAAgw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://ifr.org/downloads/hidden/Position_Paper_HUMANOID_ROBOTS_by_IFR_V01.pdf
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33acqeKFRwZZENnLAOR17k8AAAAgw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Humanoid robots
> So, why does this need to look anything like a human?
Because the alternative is that it looks like a Dalek.
Re: Humanoid robots
Semi-serious answer. It actually looks a bit like something out of Greek Mythology -- half man and half catering cart. (Make up your own story about how that came about but things like that tended to happen if you caught Zeus on a bad day). I suppose humanlike arms make some sort of sense if it's going to be shuffling parts about. But why a head? I should think that it's "eyes" would be better located on its hands.
OMG!
It's Dvorak from Freefall, isn't it!
Chaotic Shop Floors
I once worked at a place where the shop-floor layout was ever-changing in terms of obstacles.
Many times I would have to figure out where I could move loaded (heavy) carts to, and move them, to clear a path to move the cart I was trying to move.
Some shop floors are chaotic like that; others are not.
Re: Chaotic Shop Floors
" ... others are not ... "
TF for Sainsbury's. Keeps the chaos out of Waitrose.
Who will buy....?
When Henry Ford instituted the $5 a day wage, it wasn't a matter of altruism or social concern, it was to ensure there were people who made enough money to buy his cars. Even when times got rough in the marketplace, the well-paid (for the time) workers could still buy the cars and keep the lines moving and the profits coming in.
If humanoid robots replace the factory workers, who will be able to buy the products the factory produces? Robots don't spend money or buy products, people do.
Re: Who will buy....?
>it was to ensure there were people who made enough money to buy his cars.
It wasn't - that was made up years later by a writer who was 'sympathetic' to Ford's political views
The problem was that industry was booming so you trained somebody on your assembly process and next month the plant across the street is offering 25c more, you lose a worker.
What Ford did realise was that the cost + loss in productivity in replacing an employee was more than the increase salary. Something modern tech industry has apparently forgotten.
Ironically this became more of a problem because of assembly lines which meant that workers had to be specifically trained for your line. Rather than needing skilled apprentice/journeyman workers who could be productive from day one.
Humanoid robots
So, why does this need to look anything like a human?