SAIC-GM has introduced a wheeled humanoid robot into the battery assembly line for the Buick Electra E7, marking one of the first deployments of embodied intelligent robots in China’s automotive sector. The robot, called Nengzai No. 1, was co-developed by SAIC-GM and Shanghai-based startup Agibot. It is tasked with core processes such as grasping and loading individual battery cells.
Nengzai No. 1 features a visual perception system and dual-arm coordination that allow it to autonomously recognize incoming materials and calculate optimal grasping paths without relying on fixed, pre-programmed instructions. The robot navigates the production floor on a wheeled chassis, distinguishing it from conventional bipedal platforms.
According to SAIC-GM, the robot’s navigation-guided trajectory achieves a positioning accuracy of ±0.1 millimeters. Its compact footprint occupies less than 15 percent of that required by traditional automated workstations, improving spatial efficiency on the factory floor. Operational tests have shown that Nengzai No. 1 maintains a cycle time of approximately two seconds per piece, matching the tempo of a high-volume production line.
Agibot, which is supported by SAIC’s industrial finance and investment arm, collaborated with SAIC-GM on over 100 pilot workstations before selecting the battery production line as the initial application. Following this deployment, SAIC-GM plans to broaden the use of both wheeled and bipedal humanoid robots across additional production, logistics, and support processes.
Separately, Buick announced that the Electra E7 hybrid SUV is set to debut in China during the current quarter. The five-seat, mid-size model is built on SAIC-GM’s Xiao Yao architecture, measures 4,850 millimeters in length and offers a combined range exceeding 1,600 kilometers on a full tank and full charge. It features a plug-in hybrid powertrain and an advanced driver-assistance system developed in partnership with Chinese smart-driving firm Momenta.
Source: CnEVPost
