HumanoidUptime
Last evidence review · 04 Sep 2026
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HU-R012 / Deployment evidence

Humanoid pre-alpha robot × Schaeffler

Operator corroborated

A completed, operator-corroborated pre-alpha PoC at Schaeffler's Erlangen site with a defined ring-picking workflow and documented training method, but no quantitative operating or reliability result.

Near-production bearing-ring bin-picking proof of conceptSchaeffler site, Erlangen, GermanyCompleted near-production PoC / successor deployment plannedRecord first published 2026-09-04Last record change 2026-09-04Evidence current to 2026-09-04
CompletedPoC status
1named industrial site
0measured reliability rates

What this means

The short version, without reliability jargon

What we know

Schaeffler confirms that it completed a proof of concept with Humanoid's pre-alpha robot. Humanoid says the robot picked bearing rings from cluttered bins at the Erlangen site and describes how teleoperation was used to collect training data.

What remains unknown

The sources do not say how long the test ran, how many rings were attempted or transferred, how often the robot retried or needed help, or whether the evaluated work was autonomous.

Why it matters

This is credible evidence of a completed and clearly defined industrial test. It does not yet show how reliably or productively the robot performed, and later Alpha/Beta deployment plans describe different systems.

Evidence verdict

Established. Claimed. Unknown.

EstablishedOperator or independent evidence
  • Completed proof of conceptSchaeffler confirms a completed PoC with Humanoid's pre-alpha robot[2] [1]
  • PoC outcomeReported as successful and as fully meeting established expectations[2] [1]
ClaimedManufacturer or capability claim
  • Site and settingNear-production test at Schaeffler's Erlangen site[1]
  • Task workflowPick metallic bearing rings from cluttered bins, place them on a buffer table and move between stations[1]
  • Training methodPhysical lab twin and leader-arm teleoperation used to collect training data for VLA fine-tuning[1]
  • Recovery capabilityAutonomous real-time regrasp correction described as a capability[1]
  • Successor deployment roadmapLater agreement schedules Alpha/Beta systems for German production environments from late 2026[3]
Still unknownNo qualifying public value
  • Test dates, duration, operating hours and scheduled-time denominator
  • Ring attempts, completed transfers, retries, cycle time and throughput
  • Test-mode autonomy, supervision and human interventions
  • Failures, recovery events, availability, MTBF and MTTR

What the evidence says

Schaeffler confirms that a proof of concept with Humanoid's pre-alpha robot was completed successfully, while Humanoid identifies the Erlangen site and a defined bearing-ring bin-picking workflow. The manufacturer also documents leader-arm teleoperation for training and claims autonomous regrasp correction. No source publishes the test duration, ring attempts, completed transfers, cycle time, throughput, test-mode autonomy, interventions, failures, recovery results or availability. Later Alpha/Beta deployment plans are kept separate from the tested pre-alpha system.

01 / Reliability fields

What is known—and missing

No test duration or operating hours
No scheduled-time denominator
Teleoperation used for training; test interventions unknown
Not disclosed
Not disclosed
No ring count, attempts or throughput
Energy / charging
Not disclosed
Recovery autonomy claimed; test mode unknown
One pre-alpha robot described
Independently measured Operator corroborated Manufacturer reported Capability claim Not disclosed

02 / Claims and evidence

What each source supports

Completed proof of concept Operator corroborated

Schaeffler confirms a completed PoC with Humanoid's pre-alpha robot

Schaeffler's Q3 materials confirm completion and the pre-alpha boundary. Humanoid supplies the detailed site and workflow. Neither source publishes the test dates, duration, unit count or acceptance criteria.

Sources: [2] [1]
Site and setting Manufacturer reported

Near-production test at Schaeffler's Erlangen site

The manufacturer identifies Erlangen and calls the setup near-production. The later production-environment phase was still a next step, so this record does not describe the PoC as live production.

Sources: [1]
Task workflow Manufacturer reported

Pick metallic bearing rings from cluttered bins, place them on a buffer table and move between stations

The workflow is defined, including parallel grippers and a static picking station. No ring count, attempts, completed cycles, rejects, retries, cycle time or throughput is reported for this PoC.

Sources: [1]
PoC outcome Operator corroborated

Reported as successful and as fully meeting established expectations

Schaeffler calls the PoC successful and Humanoid says expectations were met. The expectations, test protocol, sample and pass/fail thresholds are not published, so no task-success or reliability rate can be calculated.

Sources: [2] [1]
Training method Manufacturer reported

Physical lab twin and leader-arm teleoperation used to collect training data for VLA fine-tuning

Teleoperation is explicitly part of model training. The source does not state whether test executions at Schaeffler were autonomous, supervised, teleoperated or mixed, or quantify human support.

Sources: [1]
Recovery capability Manufacturer reported

Autonomous real-time regrasp correction described as a capability

The source describes autonomous correction as an advantage of the approach but publishes no regrasp attempts, recovery success rate or unrecovered-event count from the PoC.

Sources: [1]
Successor deployment roadmap Manufacturer reported

Later agreement schedules Alpha/Beta systems for German production environments from late 2026

The later roadmap covers new robot stages, sites and tasks, not the tested pre-alpha configuration. Planned December 2026 through June 2027 phases and a four-digit 2032 target are not treated as completed deployments or current reliability evidence.

Sources: [3]

03 / Deployment timeline

What happened, and when

  1. Humanoid reports the completed Erlangen PoC

    The manufacturer identifies the pre-alpha robot, near-production setting, bearing-ring workflow and teleoperation-based training method without publishing a result table.

    [1]

  2. Schaeffler corroborates completion

    The operator's Q3 presentation calls the pre-alpha PoC successful and places a production-environment Alpha phase in the future.

    [2]

  3. Successor deployment roadmap is announced

    Humanoid describes planned late-2026 Alpha/Beta deployment phases at German Schaeffler sites; those future systems are not used as evidence about the completed pre-alpha PoC.

    [3]

  4. HumanoidUptime evidence audit

    The completed PoC, qualitative outcome, training method and future deployment roadmap were separated from missing operating and reliability measurements.

    [1] [2] [3]

04 / Sources

Trace every finding

  1. Source 1Manufacturer statement

    Humanoid and Schaeffler Successfully Completed Proof of Concept for Bin Picking with Pre-Alpha Robot ↗

    Humanoid · Published 2025-10-29 · Accessed 2026-09-04

  2. Source 2Operator investor presentation

    Q3 2025 Schaeffler AG earnings ↗

    Schaeffler · Published 2025-11-04 · Accessed 2026-09-04

  3. Source 3Manufacturer deployment roadmap

    Humanoid Secures Landmark Deal with Schaeffler to Deploy Thousands of Humanoid Robots ↗

    Humanoid · Published 2026-05-13 · Accessed 2026-09-04

Evidence current to2026-09-04

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