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BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

press.bmwgroup.com

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Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#131

Post by formerly_proven »

Maxion wrote: post #23

Whenever I hear german companies mention digitalisation, I get reminded that they still use pen and pencil in production environments to log data, pass those sheets to secreteries who enter the data into legacy systems so data analysts can enter it into another system that then has an integration with SAP. Data from SAP then flows onwards to some buzzword filled Azure product that costs a few million a month from whi…

I've only seen pen and paper at work in connection with things where real paper signed with actual pens was required by law in such unambiguous terms that nobody felt like taking the risk of PDFs or a boolean database column. So, less than once per year. I've never printed anything for work and I'm not really sure how I would correctly print something. I think there is one printer in my branch office, somewhere?

I haven't seen any production process in automotive involve hand-written paper and I doubt it exists. Automotive supply chains have always been under massive cost pressure and therefore were always at the forefront of the most deeply digitized and automated supply chains.

Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#132

Post by tirant »

pcurve wrote: post #101
jarek83 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BMW's most recent infotainment is a big step backwards to me in both areas - aesthetics and UX. Its previous generation was one of the best in the market also in both. I literally don't consider buying the newest 4-series just because of it, especially of the ultrawide driver's "monitor" - it's just so ugly, and I regret it, since on the outside the car appeals me so much more. I'd rather spend the same on previous y…

agreed. IMHO, last good BMWs were E90 and F10s. That's when they still cared about craftsmanship even in areas not visible to customers.

I strongly disagree. The step from the F series to the G vehicles was big, quality improved a lot, specially for the 3 series (F30, F31 vs G20, G21) and the X3 (the G01 feels like a 5 series). The materials, assembly, noises during driving, but specially the driving dynamics and robustness are incredibly high.

It’s also true though that the last wave of G models has improved driving dynamics but cheapened out in interior materials. Peak BMW interiors happened between 2019-2022 with the G01, G30, G05 and iX, i4. Being my favorites the iX and the G01.

BMW also has the best infotainment system after Tesla. And it still integrates well with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#133

Post by tirant »

KnuthIsGod wrote: post #61
Maxion wrote: post #23

Whenever I hear german companies mention digitalisation, I get reminded that they still use pen and pencil in production environments to log data, pass those sheets to secreteries who enter the data into legacy systems so data analysts can enter it into another system that then has an integration with SAP. Data from SAP then flows onwards to some buzzword filled Azure product that costs a few million a month from whi…

SAP is truly terrible.

SAP is just a skeleton and a library. How processes are implemented on it depends on the company consulting and adapting it to the business using it.

A merge between Palantir and SAP would dominate the market in a way there wouldn’t be any competitor left.

Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#134

Post by aix1 »

bob1029 wrote: post #125
Geof25 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder what has happened to the German builder/tinkerer culture that made German manufacturing great. Over engineered stuff which hate the user is staple of German manufacturing. Look on tanks during WW2. Impressive on the surface but unreliable crap for everyone who used it.

I've learned my lesson about German engineering after buying one of their vacuum cleaners. The ergonomics of the machine seem bad on purpose.

I have a Metabo vacuum (ASA 30 H PC) and absolutely love it. What's bad about the ergonomics of yours?

Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#135

Post by tirant »

umpalumpaaa wrote: post #117
hnburnsy wrote: post #88

A union in Germany is fighting Tesla over this same thing... >. In 2026, Giga Berlin is the pilot site for the "Optimus" Gen-3 integration—humanoid robots performing repetitive tasks in the battery pack assembly area. IG Metall views this not as progress, but as a threat to job security. https://www.teslaacessories.com/blogs/news/the-giga-berlin-s...

I always found German unions pretty good. I mean the union is correct in this case. Robots will replace jobs. A union’s job is to make sure there are jobs for people in the company they are already in. Usually unions would speak the truth (“robots = jobs go away”) but pair this with some suggestions: eg trying to upskill the affected worker so that they can be moved to a different department). While I was working in…

The main problem with unions in Germany is that they block companies from adapting to changes in the environment quickly. Companies become heavy behemoths and end up suffering from it, which ends up damaging their own employees as well.

Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#136

Post by tirant »

Flavius wrote: post #7
givemeethekeys wrote: post #5

That's excellent! I look forward to much cheaper cars now that the robots will be making them for the masses.

Oh, absolutely. Because history clearly shows that when multi-billion dollar corporations save money on labor, they immediately pass those savings directly to the consumer.

That only happens in an open and competitive market. It’s usually governments that block that from happening (tariffs, taxes, unnecessary regulations…)

Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#137

Post by tirant »

r33b33 wrote: post #12

So their cars will get cheaper, right... right???

Why cheaper?

BMW does not focus on providing cheap cars but highly performing ones. So probably the reduction in costs will be used to improve performance, features and perceived quality.

BMW has pretty low margins, like around 7-12% usually. A 10% reduction in manufacturing costs is not much.

Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#138

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

bob1029 wrote: post #125
Geof25 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wonder what has happened to the German builder/tinkerer culture that made German manufacturing great. Over engineered stuff which hate the user is staple of German manufacturing. Look on tanks during WW2. Impressive on the surface but unreliable crap for everyone who used it.

I've learned my lesson about German engineering after buying one of their vacuum cleaners. The ergonomics of the machine seem bad on purpose.

Anecdotally, I disagree. The ergonomics on my Miele are very good. It is clear that attention was paid to many details of using it.

Re: BMW Group to deploy humanoid robots in production in Germany for the first time

#140

Post by mtct88 »

I still don’t understand how this can be considered cheaper or more productive than using a human.

I’m all for automation in industry, but the "human simulation" approach (where a robot mimics a human on a production line instead of using a process optimized for machine operation) just doesn’t make sense to me.

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