Humanoid’s 1,000+ Robot Deal with Schaeffler Hints At 100,000 Units By 2031 - Forbes
# Humanoid’s 1,000+ Robot Deal with Schaeffler Hints At 100,000 Units By 2031. Two-year-old British startup Humanoid has signed a deal to integrate “a four-digit number of humanoid robots into live manufacturing operations” at German industrial giant Schaef...
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Figure AI’s humanoid robots have just broken a new endurance record, running three Helix‑02 units for over 24 hours of nonstop autonomous package sorting at its San Jose warehouse. The robots completed more than 28,000 sorts without a single failure, automatically resetting themselves when they encounter unfamiliar situations, and maintained speeds comparable to human workers. Earlier in the week the company streamed an eight‑hour shift in which a humanoid sorted packages for the first time on a public livestream, drawing millions of views and demonstrating an “zero‑failure” run. At the upcoming Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston (May 27‑28), industry leaders will examine how integrated semiconductor technologies and system‑level design can make humanoids more intelligent, agile and energy‑efficient, a session led by Texas Instruments’ robotics general manager. Canada’s Sanctuary AI says fully functional home‑use humanoids are still three to five years away, but expects commercial viability within the next three to seven years as companies such as 1X and Figure ramp up production. British startup Humanoid has sealed a deal with German industrial giant Schaeffler to place at least 1,000 – and potentially many more – humanoid robots in live manufacturing lines, a partnership that hints at a target of 100,000 units shipped by 2031. For hobbyists and small‑scale developers, the open‑source Asimov V1 kit arrived with a bill of materials and a price tag around $15,000, offering 25 degrees of freedom and a customizable compute stack. China is accelerating its own humanoid rollout under a new national blueprint that earmarks 2025 as the first year of mass production, with a pilot platform for robot components already under construction in Shanghai. Finally, Chinese robot maker Unitree unveiled a $650,000 personal “Gundam”‑style mech, showcasing the country’s push toward high‑profile, consumer‑focused humanoid platforms.
Humanoid’s 1,000+ Robot Deal with Schaeffler Hints At 100,000 Units By 2031. Two-year-old British startup Humanoid has signed a deal to integrate “a four-digit number of humanoid robots into live manufacturing operations” at German industrial giant Schaeffler’s factories starting later this year. The bigger news, however, might be that Humanoid has committed to buying a “seven-digit number of actuators” from Schaeffler over the term of the agreement, suggesting that Humanoid intends to ship a staggering 100,000 humanoid robots across all of its clients over the next five years. Something must be working in that deal, because on Wednesday, the two companies upgraded the number significantly and signed an agreement to integrate at least 1,000 – and potentially many more – humanoid robots into Schaeffler’s manufacturing operations. As part of the deal, Humanoid is agreeing to make Schaeffler its key supplier for actuators – the motors that make humanoid robots move – over the next five years.
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