Production Lines
Last week humanoids stopped being demos and started doing real work on factory floors — with satellites keeping the fleets connected.
Last week humanoids finally moved from videos and lab tests into real daily work inside factories.
A humanoid is basically a robot built to walk on two legs and use its arms and hands the way a person would. Unlike the big fixed arms you see in old car plants, these can move around a normal workspace. At BMW's Leipzig plant in Germany, one called AEON (built by Hexagon) started carrying car parts and checking finished car bodies for flaws while the line was running normally. This is the first time Europe has used a humanoid for regular production work.
On June 21, SpaceX launched 24 more Starlink satellites from Vandenberg. Starlink beams fast internet from space. For factories far from normal broadband, that means the robots and the humans watching them can stay in touch in real time.
June 16-17 the EMEA Humanoid Robot Summit met in Munich with over 300 people. They talked about real problems: safety around people, precise control, and whether using lots of these machines actually makes financial sense.
Figure AI kept production at about one new Figure 03 every hour. Hundreds are already working. The ones on the job are sending back data to train the next versions.
Tesla is building a dedicated Optimus factory section at Giga Texas. The steel is going up now. A smaller pilot is still expected later this summer in California.
On June 21 a Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg and put 24 new Starlink satellites into orbit. These satellites deliver internet from space. For factories or sites far from normal broadband, it means robots and the people running them can talk to each other without waiting for slow connections. Booster landed as planned.
SpaceX launches ↗At the Leipzig plant in Germany, the AEON humanoid started doing actual production work under normal conditions — moving parts and inspecting car bodies. This is Europe's first regular use of a humanoid in a car factory. Focus is high-voltage battery assembly and hard physical jobs. Full use planned by end of year.
BMW Group press ↗Figure kept its BotQ line running at about one new Figure 03 every hour. Over 350 delivered and working. Robots already on floors are recording real data that trains the next versions.
Figure reports ↗Construction of a dedicated Optimus area is underway at Giga Texas. Steel frame rising now. Smaller pilot run expected later this summer in California. First units for internal use.
Tesla updates ↗EMEA Humanoid Robot Summit (Munich, June 16-17) with 300+ attendees. Focused on safety around people, precise control, and whether the costs make sense once you scale past the first tests.
EMEA Summit ↗