Manufacturing Accenture and Schaeffler Pave the Way for Humanoid Robots

From Accenture | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

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AI, digital twins, and humanoid robots could revolutionize the industry. Accenture and Schaeffler are now combining these technologies for the first time in a proof of concept.

Simulation in the digital twin: Digit, the humanoid robot from Agility Robotics, transports and places containers in setup and picking areas.(Image: Accenture)
Simulation in the digital twin: Digit, the humanoid robot from Agility Robotics, transports and places containers in setup and picking areas.
(Image: Accenture)

At the Hannover Messe 2025 (Germany), Accenture and Schaeffler AG showcased how humanoid robots are finding their way into industrial production environments using physical AI and digital twins. With the support of Nvidia and Microsoft, the companies simulate, according to a statement, the seamless integration of adaptive robotics into real factory processes—from mobile manipulators to advanced humanoid systems like "Digit" from Agility Robotics or "Phoenix" from Sanctuary AI.

The core of the collaboration is a proof of concept on three levels: First, production environments are pre-simulated using Nvidia Omniverse to optimally design layouts, material flows, and levels of automation. Next, Accenture and Schaeffler test different types of robots in digital twins—including humanoid robots that acquire their skills through imitation learning in the simulation. Finally, operational data is fed into Microsoft Fabric to continuously monitor and optimize processes.

The special feature: The deployed robots move in environments originally created for humans—and learn to behave efficiently and collaboratively within them. For users in automation, this opens up a new toolbox for flexible, scalable robotic solutions.

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