Apptronik opens Austin robot park for Apollo humanoid training

Apptronik has opened Robot Park, a nearly 90,000 square foot training and data collection facility in Austin for its Apollo humanoid robots, according to Interesting Engineering. The site is being used to collect operational data as Apollo 2 robots perform workplace tasks intended to improve embodied AI systems.

The Austin company also unveiled Apollo 2, the latest version of its humanoid platform. The robot is offered in both bipedal and wheeled base configurations, a split that reflects a practical tension in humanoid deployment: legs are useful for human built spaces, while wheels can be easier to stabilize and certify for high throughput industrial work.

Real tasks as training data

Robot Park is described as Apptronik’s primary data collection and training hub. Inside the facility, bipedal and wheeled Apollo 2 robots work through customer focused tasks across logistics, manufacturing, retail and other industrial environments.

The program is tied directly to Apptronik’s research partnership with Google DeepMind. Data collected by Apollo 2 is being used to refine Gemini Robotics AI models, while also feeding back into Apptronik’s commercial robot platform. The source says Apptronik has extended similar data collection workflows to Google DeepMind and to customers including Mercedes-Benz and GXO.

“What we’re building is a continuous learning loop with the Google DeepMind Robotics team: robots working, collecting data, and improving with every cycle, in real environments, on real tasks,”Jeff Cardenas, Apptronik CEO

Apptronik is using both teleoperation and autonomous operation to gather training data. The company also relies on advanced teleoperation systems and high fidelity physics simulations to support hardware development and AI training.

Apollo 2 gets wheeled and bipedal variants

Apollo 2 is presented as a modular AI powered humanoid platform and has served as the main workhorse behind Robot Park for more than a year, according to the report. The wheeled version is intended for stable, high throughput industrial operation while complying with existing mobile robot safety standards. The bipedal model is aimed at navigation in spaces built for people and at improving walking reliability in more complex settings.

Apptronik says Apollo 2 combines human like mobility with dexterous manipulation, perception and AI driven reasoning. The robot also includes an expressive LED face, speech and listening features, and a chest mounted display showing robot status, battery level and task progress.

The company says Apollo 2 uses proprietary high efficiency actuators, swappable batteries and multiple charging options. It also says the data collected through Apollo 2 and the Google DeepMind partnership is supporting development of Apollo 3, which Apptronik expects to launch with more advanced embodied AI capabilities.

Source: interestingengineering.com