Ep. 148
03:28
The Robots Arrived at an American Car Plant, and the Line Supervisor Says They're Still Slower Than the People
About This Episode
The New York Times went inside BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina factory and Hyundai's Ellabell, Georgia plant to watch humanoid robots do real production work. The machines are on the floor doing paid tasks — and a BMW vice president says on the record they are still slower than the humans, while outside experts warn the efficiency gains automakers are promising may not arrive.
Our Take
A humanoid robot on a real American factory floor is slower than the worker beside it — and the reason that isn't reassuring is that every slow shift it works is a training run, which turns the honest question from 'can it do the job' into 'how long is the window before it can, and what gets built in that window'.