- The Calvin-40 robot is perfect for heavy and repetitive lifting tasks.
- Unlike the Tesla Optimus, this robot doesn’t have much dexterity.
- Renault wants to cut production hours per vehicle by 30 percent.
Whether you like it or not, humanoid robots are coming for the jobs of millions of people, and a rather unexpected car manufacturer is preparing to add them to its factories in 2027. Renault is set to deploy 350 humanoid robots developed in partnership with the French startup Wandercraft in hopes of increasing production speed and slashing costs.
The robot, known as Calvin-40 and developed in just 40 days, is headless and, as such, doesn’t look as worringly humanlike as Tesla’s Optimus. Unlike Tesla’s solution, and similar robots deployed by Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, Renault doesn’t want the Calvin-40 to become too advanced, and instead only plans to have it perform simple and repetitive tasks, such as lifting and carrying heavy loads.
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Speaking at a presentation of the robot, Renault’s head of production and quality Thierry Charvet said that “Honestly, I am not interested in having humanoid robots.” He added he’s “interested in having efficient and low-cost automation devices, even if they look like humans.”
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Among the simple tasks the robot can be programmed to do are lifting tires and carrying panels through a factory’s body shop. The robot has large, circular hands, rather than dextrous fingers, so human workers will still be needed to perform important work on the assembly lines. Renault noted that the first task in developing Calvin-40 was to “relieve workers from painful and repetitive tasks.”
“If you imagine the same robot with wheels with 30 kg at the end of the arms, you need a very wide base, so this kind of robots allow us to automate many workstations where it was not possible,” Chavret said while discussing the importance of humanoid robots to carry heavy loads in small areas.
Production improvements have allowed the French manufacturer to slash production of the 5 and Twingo EVs to 10 hours or less, saving money. Through the implementation of humanoid robots like the Calvin-40, as well as other endeavors, Renault is aiming to cut production hours per vehicle by 30 percent.