UK startup Humanoid and industrial giant Schaeffler have successfully completed a proof-of-concept for bin picking. The trial used a pre-alpha robot and will now move to a second phase with the new HMND 01 Alpha platform.
Corporate venture capital investment in robotics startups surged 183% YoY in Q1 2024, reaching $1.3 billion across 34 deals. Driven by AI advancements and manufacturing needs like onshoring, corporations are investing both to supply components for and deploy next‑generation robots, most notably humanoids.
Schaeffler partners with Accenture, NVIDIA, and Microsoft to optimize future factory operations using digital twins on NVIDIA Omniverse. The collaboration involves simulating various automation scenarios, including the use of humanoid robots like Agility's Digit and Sanctuary AI's Phoenix, and leveraging Microsoft Fabric for data analysis to bridge virtual testing with real-world performance.