SAP Runs Humanoid Robots Live While Toyota Ships Swarm AGVs and Researchers Crack the Transparent Object Problem

News

Humanoid and SAP Complete First Live ERP-to-Robot Integration at Auto Manufacturer

This is the first time an external enterprise system directly controlled a humanoid robot in a live production environment, with SAP's Joule agent routing real warehouse tasks to the HMND 01 Alpha via the internet. The robot handled three tote types, managed an 8kg dual-arm payload, and operated without any local custom control system, which is exactly the integration architecture that makes broad enterprise deployment feasible.

Humanoid's HMND 01 Alpha Ships Into Real Production Logistics With KinetIQ Fleet Orchestration

The KinetIQ AI stack let the fleet be reallocated in real time as production demands shifted, which is the key differentiator from single-robot demos. With 30,000 pre-orders and a Q3 2026 beta hardware target, the data from this trial feeds directly into production-intent design decisions.

Toyota Launches Swarm Automation Transport AGV System for Mixed-Fleet Warehouse Ops

Toyota's new Swarm system pairs its SAI125CB automated stacker with T-ONE software, handling euro and bottom-deck pallets while running alongside manual trucks. The lithium-ion auto-charging and 360-degree safety sensors make it a practical drop-in for warehouses that want to automate incrementally rather than rip and replace.

Research

HEAPGrasp Hits 96% Success Rate on Transparent and Reflective Objects Using RGB Only

Japanese researchers at Tokyo University of Science solved a long-standing perception bottleneck by combining semantic segmentation with Shape from Silhouette reconstruction, cutting camera travel distance by 52% and execution time by 19% versus baseline methods. The fact that it works with a single RGB camera and can be retrofitted to existing robots makes this practically deployable, not just a lab result.