This humanoid robot is working full shifts at a factory
At Schaeffler's plant in South Carolina, a humanoid robot called Digit now works eight-hour shifts, but it still needs a human watching over it.
Because Digit can't detect people, it spends its day inside a plexiglass box.
The robot is pretty advanced, using cameras and lidar to get around and tackle tough jobs that help fill labor gaps.
Schaeffler hopes to roll out Digit at 100 plants worldwide, teaming up with NVIDIA for smarter AI.
Digit's cost vs. human labor
Robots like Digit are already working with big names like Amazon and GXO Logistics, and they're getting cheaper fast.
Right now, Digit costs $10 to $25 an hour but could drop to just $2 to $3, way less than entry-level human wages at the plant.
As veteran worker Doug Thompson put it, "Efficiency is the name of the game and it's relentless."
Even Xiami is joining in, recently adding humanoid robots to its electric vehicle factory in Beijing.
It's clear: robots on the factory floor aren't sci-fi anymore. They're here and changing how work gets done.