GXO is putting humanoids to work. The e-commerce logistics giant is testing humanlike robots made by three different robotics firms as it explores ways to bring the most cutting-edge tech to the warehouses it operates for its customers. Adrian Stoch, GXO’s chief automation officer, told Business Insider that he’s optimistic about humanoids because they’re the first kinds of robots that could theoretically complete multiple tasks in a warehouse, thanks to increasingly complex AI models.
They’re not quite there yet. For now, the humanoids that GXO is piloting focus on completing one task each. “We are going really broad and aggressive on the category,” Stoch said. “It’s because of where we see this going.”
Digit, a humanoid robot made by Agility Robotics, is currently working at a GXO-operated Spanx warehouse in Atlanta, moving heavy containers from a 6 River Systems robot to a conveyor belt. GXO is also testing Apptronik’s Apollo humanoid with an undisclosed technology customer and Reflex Robotics’ humanoid with a sports apparel customer. Reflex’s humanoid assists by bringing empty corrugated cardboard from a robot made by Locus Robotics to a machine to be recycled.
GXO is still in discussion about how to best utilize Apollo for the technology customer that has signed on for the pilot. The company is also in conversation with four other vendors producing humanoid robots, Stoch stated.
