"AEON is not a legged humanoid in the conventional sense. Rather than feet, its legs terminate in wheels, allowing it to move across factory floors at up to 2.5 metres per second on flat surfaces, while retaining the ability to step over obstacles when needed. Its torso is human-like, designed to accept interchangeable gripping tools, hands, and scanning devices without structural modification, making it genuinely multifunctional."
"BMW Group announced the Leipzig pilot on 9 March 2026, framing it as the latest step in what the company calls its 'physical AI' strategy, the convergence of artificial intelligence and robotics at the level of the factory floor. The robot is built by Hexagon Robotics, the physical AI division of Swedish measurement technology group Hexagon, headquartered in Zürich."
"The timing is notable. The executive leading this initiative, Milan Nedeljković, BMW's Board Member for Production, has been named the company's incoming CEO, effective 14 May 2026. His promotion was announced in December 2025, making the Leipzig deployment one of the last major announcements from his tenure as production chief."
BMW Group launched a pilot program at its Leipzig plant featuring AEON, a humanoid robot developed by Hexagon Robotics. Standing 1.65 meters tall and weighing 60 kilograms, AEON features wheeled legs enabling movement up to 2.5 meters per second on flat surfaces while maintaining obstacle-stepping capability. The robot represents the first humanoid robot deployed in production in Germany and reflects BMW's 'physical AI' strategy, combining artificial intelligence with robotics on factory floors. This deployment follows an successful 11-month trial with Figure AI robots in the US. Milan Nedeljković, BMW's Board Member for Production who championed this initiative, has been named incoming CEO effective May 2026, making this announcement significant for signaling his manufacturing-focused priorities.
Read at TNW | Robots
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