French contract logistics company ID Logistics is working with German robot company Terra Robotics to test whether humanoid robots can be used in logistics, the two companies announced, iRobotNews reports. Their cooperation took effect on 1 November, and they plan a first pilot at a logistics site in Germany within six months.
Each company has trained one Unitree G1 EDU6 humanoid on the same parcel sorting task, ID Logistics with a robot called IDA at its Griesheim site and Terra Robotics with one called Heinz in Löhne. The companies say the robots can now tell cardboard boxes from mailing bags and sort packaging into shipping boxes, using five-fingered hands with touch sensors.
In the coming weeks they will choose four or five uses for humanoids, such as order picking, parcel sorting and packing, and then pick the tasks and robot models for the trial from Terra Robotics' range, which includes Unitree and UBTech robots.
