Humanoid robots have started building the very parts that make them move. On 20 October, Schaeffler opened its Embodied Intelligence Robotics smart factory in Taicang, and six humanoids went to work on the joint-module assembly line.
The roughly 7,500 square metre plant slots the humanoids into material handling, parts sorting, press-fitting, inspection and packaging alongside the existing automated line. More telling than the deployment is the training ground built next to it: six typical industrial scenarios covering visual inspection, material picking and parts assembly, tied together by a digital-twin system that links scenario training, production validation and process optimisation.
For a components giant with a mature automation base, making robot joints was never the surprise. Schaeffler’s move is to fold parts manufacturing, robot training and industrial application into one factory, probing a path to scaled deployment of embodied intelligence. The commercial signal is concrete: in the third quarter of 2026 the company won new orders from two China-based customers, lifting its cumulative humanoid-robot order book to 400 million euros.
The arc is deliberate. From supplying robot components, to letting robots run the production, to providing the industrial scenarios where they prove out, Schaeffler is converting the manufacturing muscle it built for the car industry into a fresh line of business.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Gasgoo report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://www.gasgoo.com/apps/e060bad9eca91db7f01403fc7120041f/robot/news/70475373.