Apollo will be capable of doing a wide range of tasks. Apptronik says this ability as a general-purpose robot will help workers in industries like logistics, retail, hospitality, aerospace and more.
Apptronik was founded in 2016 out of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Argodesign, a firm with offices in New York, abroad and near South Congress, on Gibson Street, was selected as a partner in designing Apollo. In a press release, Apptronik said the team’s focus now is to scale Apollo so that it’s customer-ready in 2023.
Apptronik first partnered with NASA in 2013 during a robotics challenge where founders were selected to work on NASA’s Valkyrie Robot.
Now that the agency has selected Apptronik as a commercial partner, a new generation of robots for terrestrial and extraterrestrial use is expected to launch, with Apollo leading the way.
Jeff Cardenas, CEO and co-founder of Apptronik, expressed excitement over the continued investment from NASA.
“The robots we’ve all dreamed about are now here and ready to get out into the world,” Cardenas said. “These robots will first become tools for us here on Earth, and will ultimately help us move beyond and explore the stars.”
Apptronik describes Austin as a growing hub for robotics and is recruiting talent, with several openings based here for roles in design, software engineering, operations and other tasks.
Aside from Apptronik, another Austin company is pushing hard on humanoid robots. Tesla is expected to unveil a prototype of its bot, known as Optimus, during its AI day on Sept. 30. The company may also work to deploy thousands of these bots in their factories, job postings indicate.
