Drop-in Humanoids for Production Lines
Figure vs Apptronik vs Agility Robotics
The winning product is not the fanciest robot, it is the one a plant manager can drop into a live line with minimal disruption. That is why these companies start with jobs like moving totes, carrying parts, kitting, and sheet metal handling. Those tasks already happen in spaces built for human arms, hands, aisles, stairs, and workstations, so a humanoid can be tested without rebuilding conveyors, racks, or cell layouts.
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Agility has made this most explicit in warehouses. Digit is being deployed with GXO inside live facilities, integrated with existing automation, and has already moved more than 100,000 totes. The pitch is simple, use the same aisles, shelves, and handoff points already designed for people.
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Figure is following the same logic in auto manufacturing. At BMW Spartanburg, Figure 02 spent 11 months on sheet metal loading and contributed to production work inside an operating plant. BMW later described Spartanburg as proof that a humanoid can work in an existing automotive manufacturing environment, not just a lab.
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Apptronik is targeting line side logistics rather than a full factory redesign. Mercedes-Benz is using Apollo for delivery of assembly kits, parts movement to the line, and component inspection. Apptronik also stresses modular configurations, so the same core robot can be adapted for fixed, wheeled, or legged workflows depending on the site.
This pushes the market toward labor replacement that happens one workflow at a time, not giant automation projects. As deployments scale, the advantage should compound to the companies that can prove reliable operation in brownfield sites, gather the most real world data from those jobs, and then expand from simple transport into broader factory and warehouse tasks.