Hexagon launches new humanoid robot powered by Nvidia tech

Swedish industrial software and sensor company Hexagon launched a humanoid robot called Aeon, which is built using Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) full robotics stack.

Aeon is designed for error-prone, repetitive tasks like equipment inspection, material handling, and operating high-precision scanners for reality capture on factory floors or construction sites, where labor is often hard to find, Nvidia said in a media email to Seeking Alpha.

The company noted that Aeon can get smarter over time. Hexagon uses detailed scans of real-world environments collected by the robot to create digital twins in Nvidia Omniverse to train and improve future Aeons. It’s a self-learning loop that continuously improves performance, according to the company.

Aeon was unveiled at the Hexagon Live Global conference by Hexagon’s robotics division.

Stockholm-based Hexagon plans to deploy Aeon across automotive, transportation, aerospace, manufacturing, warehousing and logistics.

Hexagon said Aeon combines best-in-class locomotion, sensor fusion, and AI-based spatial intelligence to address labor shortages and tackle industrial use cases.

“We have engaged with many industry leaders already, and over the next six months we’ll be deploying AEON in production environments before expanding our commercial rollout,” said Arnaud Robert, president, Hexagon’s Robotics division.

Hexagon’s Robotics division is partnering with Schaeffler and Pilatus to pilot Aeon across manipulation, machine tending, part inspection, and reality capture use cases.

The Swedish company added that the Robotics unit has established strong partnerships with technology companies Nvidia, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Maxon to bring Aeon to the market.

Aeon is powered by Nvidia accelerated computing, Nvidia Omniverse, and Nvidia Jetson, while Microsoft Azure’s platform enables scalable development and on-demand training of Aeon’s capabilities.

Hexagon noted that Maxon’s next-generation actuators power Aeon’s efficient locomotion across multiple environments.