Humanoid partners with Bosch, Schaeffler to scale robot production

LEAD: Humanoid has announced strategic partnerships with Bosch and Schaeffler to scale production and distribution of its HMND humanoid robot in Europe, marking a significant step toward commercial viability for the platform. This collaboration leverages Bosch’s manufacturing expertise and Schaeffler’s precision engineering to address the critical challenge of mass-producing humanoid robots at competitive costs.

BACKGROUND: The humanoid robotics industry has long struggled with the transition from lab prototypes to scalable manufacturing, with most platforms remaining limited to research settings. Humanoid’s HMND robot, designed for industrial and logistics tasks, competes with Tesla’s Optimus, Figure 02, and Agility’s Digit. Prior to these partnerships, Humanoid had already secured a deal with Siemens for automation integration, but lacked the production capacity to meet potential demand. Bosch and Schaeffler bring decades of experience in automotive and industrial component manufacturing, offering a path to volume production.

KEY DETAILS: The HMND robot stands 1.7 meters tall and weighs 68 kilograms, with a payload capacity of 15 kilograms per arm. It uses a combination of electric actuators and harmonic drives for joint actuation, enabling 32 degrees of freedom. The robot’s locomotion relies on a model-predictive control framework for dynamic walking, achieving a top speed of 1.5 m/s. Its manipulation capabilities include force-torque sensing in each finger, allowing for precision assembly tasks. The design prioritizes modularity, with swappable battery packs providing 2 hours of operation.

Bosch will handle final assembly and distribution through its existing industrial network, while Schaeffler will supply custom bearings and linear motion components to reduce friction and improve energy efficiency. This division of labor reflects a strategic choice to focus on core AI and control software while outsourcing hardware manufacturing to established players. The partnerships also include joint development of next-generation actuators, targeting a 30% reduction in component cost per unit.

OUTLOOK: These partnerships position Humanoid to achieve production volumes of 1,000 units per year by 2026, targeting automotive and electronics assembly lines. For manufacturers, this signals a shift toward commercially viable humanoid robots that can be procured through established industrial channels, reducing procurement risk. However, the real test will be whether the HMND can demonstrate reliable performance in real-world factory settings, where uptime and maintenance costs are critical. If successful, this model of leveraging automotive supply chains could become a template for other humanoid startups.

Source: Eugene Demaitre