Humanoid robots have arrived at the trade show. The factory is another matter
A dozen firms showed two-legged machines stacking boxes. Asked how many were earning their keep, most changed the subject
The crowds at this year's industrial fair gathered around the humanoids: machines that walk on two legs, pick up boxes and, in one case, hand out branded water bottles. Twelve companies showed them. Last year there were three.
Asked how many were deployed in real factories, most exhibitors offered pilot programmes and partnerships. One put the figure at 40. None would say what the robots cost per hour to run.
“The question is not whether a humanoid can do the job,” said Dr. Katrin Vogel, who studies industrial automation. “It is whether it can do it more cheaply than a wheeled robot with an arm, which usually can.”
