Agile Robots and Audi to transform automotive logistics with mobile humanoids, supported by Dassault Systèmes and NVIDIA

At Audi, demand-driven material supply relies on highly complex sequencing operations. Every day, around one million picks ensure that the right parts reach the right workstation in the right order for assembly. Audi and Agile Robots, together with Dassault Systèmes and NVIDIA, aim to take this process to the next level: In the Production Lab, Audi's innovation space for testing future production and logistics technologies, mobile humanoids from Agile Robots are picking parts from material containers and placing them in the correct sequence for final assembly of Audi premium vehicles. The Audi Supply Chain experts contribute their sequencing expertise and define the operational requirements for testing the use case under real-world conditions.

The project is already underway. Before robot deployment within Audi’s smart intralogistics environment, a virtual twin of the logistics environment is being created using Dassault Systèmes' DELMIA application. In the future, LEO, Dassault Systèmes’ AI-powered Virtual Companion, will assist the engineers and accelerating the process from months to days. Feasibility, timings, ergonomics and safety for the robot’s task will be tested within the virtual twin on Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, leveraging the company’s Industry World Models and NVIDIA Omniverse libraries.

Munich based Agile Robots already has over 20,000 robotic solutions deployed with customers worldwide. The company's newly developed mobile humanoid robots combine humanoid reach and dexterity with the robustness of a mobile base. They work at human height, and so slot into Audi's existing environment. The proof of concept supports Audi's vision of highly automated in-house logistics within the thinking factory, where AI and robotics work hand in hand with employees. By automating complex and repetitive sequencing tasks, the technology can help reduce manual workload, increase efficiency and enable employees to focus on higher-value activities.

The proof of concept supports Audi's vision of highly automated in-house logistics within the thinking factory, where AI and robotics work hand in hand with employees. By automating complex and repetitive sequencing tasks, the technology can help reduce manual workload, increase efficiency and enable employees to focus on higher-value activities.

Two of the most persistent challenges in automation have been the handling of high-variant or semi-rigid parts and the reliable picking of unsorted components from containers. Agile Robots' mobile humanoids are designed to address both. Their dual-arm manipulation capabilities enable them to handle large and flexible parts, while AI-powered perception allows them to identify, grasp and manipulate a wide variety of components with precision, even when stored in mixed containers or presented in varying positions and packaging.

Together, the partners are pushing the boundaries of automated kitting to demonstrate how Physical AI-powered humanoid robots can become a gamechanger for future logistics, enabling the automation of tasks that have long been beyond the reach of traditional robotics and paving the way for high-volume series production.

Agile Robots founder and CEO Dr. Zhaopeng Chen said: “Agile Robots is driving industries forward with Physical AI. Working with Audi we show how our mobile humanoids can perform high-value, critical tasks that were previously impossible to automate. That is what Physical AI is all about – real progress for industrial productivity.”

Gerd Walker, Board Member for Production and Logistics at AUDI AG said: “The future of manufacturing will be defined by how successfully we combine industrial expertise with artificial intelligence. For decades, picking within the sequencing process has remained one of the toughest automation challenges in automotive logistics. Together with our partners, we are now exploring how AI-powered robotics can help solve this challenge and unlock a new level of productivity in our Audi factories.”

Philippe Laufer, Executive Vice President, 3DS Global Brands, Dassault Systèmes said: “The breakthrough is not simply bringing humanoid robots into the factory at high pace. It is being able to engineer and validate their mission and role before they ever enter it physically. With 3DEXPERIENCE Virtual Twins Factory, powered by Industry World Models and Virtual Companions, engineers can accurately experiment feasibility, timing, ergonomics and safety in a virtual environment, reducing work that can take months to days, and consequently speed up the commissioning of these humanoid robots within the plants. Together with NVIDIA and our partners, we are turning Physical AI into competitive advantages industry can deploy with confidence.”

“Humanoid robots are advancing automation beyond fixed, repetitive tasks to the complex, variable work at the heart of modern manufacturing,” said Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge AI at NVIDIA. “Audi and Agile Robots are using Dassault Systèmes DELMIA and NVIDIA Omniverse physical AI libraries to simulate and validate mobile humanoids for parts sequencing, tackling one of automotive logistics’ toughest workflows with minimal changes to existing operations.”