GXO Logistics Deploys Humanoid Robots
What happened
GXO Logistics, the world's largest pure-play contract logistics provider, is now piloting humanoid robotics in its live warehouse operations. The company's integration of advanced robots, which recently earned it a prestigious supply chain award, signals a shift from trial phases to scaled, business-critical deployments in the logistics sector.
Why it matters
- GXO is concurrently piloting humanoid robots from at least three different vendors: Apptronik (the Apollo robot), Agility Robotics (the Digit robot), and Reflex Robotics, to evaluate various hardware and AI platforms. - The partnership with Apptronik is an early-stage proof-of-concept focusing on lab-based AI model tuning before deployment. Their Apollo robot stands 5'8", weighs 160 lbs, and is designed to carry 55 lbs, with a 4-hour swappable battery. - The collaboration with Agility Robotics is more mature, involving a multi-year Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) agreement for their Digit robot. This humanoid is already in commercial operation at a GXO-managed SPANX facility, where its tasks include moving totes from Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) to conveyors. - Agility Robotics' Digit stands 5'9" tall, weighs 140 pounds, and can lift up to 35 pounds. It navigates using LiDAR and multiple depth cameras, and is managed by Agility Arc, a cloud-based fleet management platform. - The pilot with Reflex Robotics involves a humanoid designed to become fully autonomous by learning from human demonstrations and can be operationally capable within an hour of deployment. GXO is co-developing use cases for it in an omni-channel fulfillment center for a Fortune 100 retailer. - This humanoid initiative is part of a broader automation strategy that saw GXO increase its total units of warehouse automation by approximately 50% in 2023. - GXO's Chief Automation Officer, Adrian Stoch, views the company's warehouses as "operational incubators" or "living labs" where robotics developers can test and refine their technology in real-world environments. - To manage these complex, automated environments, GXO recently launched GXO IQ, a proprietary AI-powered platform built on Google Cloud's Vertex AI to orchestrate operations across inventory, robotics, and personnel in real-time.
Key numbers
- Their Apollo robot stands 5'8", weighs 160 lbs, and is designed to carry 55 lbs, with a 4-hour swappable battery.
- Agility Robotics' Digit stands 5'9" tall, weighs 140 pounds, and can lift up to 35 pounds.
- GXO is co-developing use cases for it in an omni-channel fulfillment center for a Fortune 100 retailer.
- This humanoid initiative is part of a broader automation strategy that saw GXO increase its total units of warehouse automation by approximately 50% in 2023.
Quick answers
What happened in GXO Logistics Deploys Humanoid Robots?
GXO Logistics, the world's largest pure-play contract logistics provider, is now piloting humanoid robotics in its live warehouse operations. The company's integration of advanced robots, which recently earned it a prestigious supply chain award, signals a shift from trial phases to scaled, business-critical deployments in the logistics sector.
Why does GXO Logistics Deploys Humanoid Robots matter?
GXO is concurrently piloting humanoid robots from at least three different vendors: Apptronik (the Apollo robot), Agility Robotics (the Digit robot), and Reflex Robotics, to evaluate various hardware and AI platforms. The partnership with Apptronik is an early-stage proof-of-concept focusing on lab-based AI model tuning before deployment. Their Apollo robot stands 5'8", weighs 160 lbs, and is designed to carry 55 lbs, with a 4-hour swappable battery. The collaboration with Agility Robotics is more mature, involving a multi-year Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) agreement for their Digit robot. This humanoid is already in commercial operation at a GXO-managed SPANX facility, where its tasks include moving totes from Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) to conveyors. Agility Robotics' Digit stands 5'9" tall, weighs 140 pounds, and can lift up to 35 pounds. It navigates using LiDAR and multiple depth cameras, and is managed by Agility Arc, a cloud-based fleet management platform. The pilot with Reflex Robotics involves a humanoid designed to become fully autonomous by learning from human demonstrations and can be operationally capable within an hour of deployment. GXO is co-developing use cases for it in an omni-channel fulfillment center for a Fortune 100 retailer. This humanoid initiative is part of a broader automation strategy that saw GXO increase its total units of warehouse automation by approximately 50% in 2023. GXO's Chief Automation Officer, Adrian Stoch, views the company's warehouses as "operational incubators" or "living labs" where robotics developers can test and refine their technology in real-world environments. To manage these complex, automated environments, GXO recently launched GXO IQ, a proprietary AI-powered platform built on Google Cloud's Vertex AI to orchestrate operations across inventory, robotics, and personnel in real-time.
