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Elon Musk foresees a multi-trillion dollar market for his humanoid robot, Optimus, by 2030. Another entry in the market is Apollo by Apptronik. Others will follow. The combination of crazy-“smart” AI plus improved dexterity and mobility means the replacement of human labor in manufacturing. Worse, robots will soon be making and repairing themselves. Look for mass production by the end of 2025. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.
Cue the self-replicating robot revolution: Apptronik’s humanoid Apollo robot is gearing up to assist in manufacturing copies of itself. That’s thanks to a deal between the Texas-based robotics company and global engineering solutions firm Jabil, which produces components for the likes of Apple, Dell, and HP.
The partnership will see both companies put Apollo robots to work on assembly lines at Jabil’s operations, including the ones for manufacturing Apollo bots.
Apollo will have to prove itself capable first, though. It’ll initially be assigned “an array of simple, repetitive intralogistics and manufacturing tasks, including inspection, sorting, kitting, lineside delivery, fixture placement, and sub-assembly.” The idea is for Apollo to eventually be deployed to functioning manufacturing facilities and free up human workers.
Jabil is also set to scale production of Apollo robot production, with the hopes of getting the robot to an attractive price point for Apptronik customers. The humanoid was first unveiled in 2023, and is set to become commercially available next year.
Measuring 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) tall, Apollo can handle payloads of up to 55 lb (25 kg) and operate for four hours on a single charge. It’s currently billed as being capable of rudimentary tasks like loading cargo, and moving cases around warehouses. Adding product assembly skills to its feature set will be a major leap forward for the bipedal bot.
Of course, its maker believes it’s destined for greater things. Last March, Apptronik shipped Apollo bots to Mercedes-Benz to help human workers build the automaker’s cars. TechCrunch notes this project is still in the pilot phase. Apptronik also just raised US$350 million in a Series A funding round earlier this month with the aim of scaling up Apollo production, and partnered with Google DeepMind last December to add AI smarts to the bot.
Jabil’s senior VP of global business units Rafael Renno explained that this new project is a big deal for next-generation factories: “Not only will we get a first-hand look at the impact that general-purpose robots can have as we test Apollo in our operations, but as we begin producing Apollo units, we can play a role in defining the future of manufacturing.”
Apptronik hasn’t revealed what Apollo might cost when it goes on sale, but we do have some points of reference: Unitree’s G1 is priced at $16,000, and Tesla’s Optimus is expected to slot in somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000.
While it’s currently trialing Apollo’s manufacturing capabilities, Apptronik believes that it’s in a position to make humanoid robots ubiquitous, and have it “expand into new markets and roles, such as front-of-house retail, elder care, and eventually home use.”
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