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BMW Starts European Humanoid Robot Pilot at Leipzig Plant

The program advances BMW’s Physical AI strategy by bringing Hexagon’s AEON into real production trials on a clear rollout through summer 2026.

Overview

  • BMW is piloting Hexagon’s AEON at Leipzig in its first European deployment of humanoid robots, targeting high‑voltage battery assembly and component manufacturing.
  • An initial test took place in December 2025 with further deployment from April 2026 ahead of a full pilot phase in the summer of 2026.
  • AEON was developed with a simulation‑first approach using NVIDIA’s Isaac tools and currently runs on Jetson Orin edge hardware for real‑time perception and control.
  • BMW has created a Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production to vet partners, mature the technology under factory conditions, and link efforts to its unified iFACTORY data platform.
  • Results from BMW’s 2025 Spartanburg pilot with Figure AI showed a humanoid robot supporting production of over 30,000 X3s and moving more than 90,000 parts in live operations.