- The robot currently handles core processes on the battery production line for the Buick Electra E7.
- SAIC-GM is conducting pilot applications of bipedal humanoid robots in areas including production and logistics.
SAIC-GM has deployed humanoid robots on Buick's battery production line, marking one of the first instances in China's automotive industry where embodied intelligent robots have been integrated into actual production lines.
The robot, named "Nengzai No. 1," features a wheeled chassis and differs in form from conventional bipedal robots. It currently performs core processes on the production line for the Buick Electra E7.
The wheeled robot was jointly developed by SAIC-GM and Shanghai-based startup Agibot. It is primarily responsible for tasks such as battery cell grasping and loading, according to an announcement on Friday.
Equipped with a visual perception system and dual-arm coordination capabilities, it can autonomously identify incoming materials and plan grasping paths without relying on fixed programmed instructions.
The cumulative positioning accuracy of its navigation-guided trajectory reaches plus or minus 0.1 millimeters. Meanwhile, it occupies less than 15% of the footprint of a traditional automated workstation, improving the factory's space utilization, SAIC said.
The robot maintains an operational efficiency of about 2 seconds per piece, meeting the pace standards of the mass-production line, the automaker said.
Agibot is one of the startups backed by SAIC's industrial finance and investment platform. After testing and verifying over a hundred workstations, the two parties selected the battery production line as the first application scenario for the humanoid robots.
SAIC-GM plans to further expand the application scope of the robots. Building on the deployment of wheeled robots, the company is simultaneously conducting pilot applications of bipedal humanoid robots in production, logistics, and other processes.
The Buick brand announced in January that it plans to debut the Electra E7 hybrid SUV in China in the first quarter of this year.
The five-seater mid-size SUV is built on the Xiao Yao architecture, measuring 4,850 mm in length, and delivers a comprehensive range of over 1,600 kilometers on a full tank and full charge.
The model is equipped with a plug-in hybrid system and features an assisted driving system powered by the Chinese smart driving company Momenta.
