GXO Plans Broader Warehouse Trials for Apollo Humanoid Robots
GXO wants humanoid robots to tackle more of the work between the shelf and the shipping dock.
Published November 15, 2026Intelligence / Robotics / Humanoid Robotics
GXO wants humanoid robots to tackle more of the work between the shelf and the shipping dock. Its expanded partnership with Apptronik would put Apollo through trials in picking, container movement, packing and sorting.
The companies’ November 12 letter of intent calls for trials beginning in 2027 and an initial North American rollout late that year. Their ambition for up to 1,000 robots globally over the next four years depends on agreed productivity, safety and operational requirements. The proposed business would supply robots as a service. GXO announcement
Apollo completed a U.S. pilot picking small consumer goods earlier this year, GXO says. The partners also evaluated more than 50 logistics tasks at Apptronik’s Robot Park training facility. Those evaluations will help them choose which jobs to pursue in warehouses. GXO announcement
For operators, the potential appeal is flexibility: a machine that handles several recurring jobs could be reassigned as orders change. Earning that place requires accurate picking, reliable handling of interruptions and a pace that fits the equipment around it.
The partnership began in June 2024 with laboratory work intended to prepare Apollo for a distribution center. GXO then described a robot standing 5 feet 8 inches tall, carrying up to 55 pounds and running on replaceable batteries. Its linear actuators, components that produce straight-line motion, help move its limbs. Original partnership announcement
In that 2024 announcement, Apptronik co-founder Jeff Cardenas described the intended range as “from large, powerful movements like transporting boxes and totes to small, precise ones like picking individual items or scanning barcodes.” Those jobs demand different kinds of control. Transporting a container emphasizes balance and load handling; picking an item adds the difficulty of recognizing it and choosing a reliable grasp. Original partnership announcement
GXO already has experience with a narrower humanoid assignment. Agility Robotics’ Digit moves containers onto conveyors at its Flowery Branch, Georgia, operation. In an October update, the companies reported that Digit had handled more than 100,000 containers there since their commercial relationship began in 2024. GXO–Agility update
That arrangement is expanding to facilities in Statesville, North Carolina, and Lebanon, Tennessee, with deployments expected in early 2027. Digit’s record gives GXO experience operating robots on repetitive material-handling work. Apollo’s proposed range extends into additional workflows whose performance will need to be established individually. GXO–Agility update
A service contract would give operators recurring costs to weigh against the work delivered. A useful assessment would include downtime, human assistance and integration expenses alongside each robot’s hourly output. Contract terms would also determine who pays for maintenance, software and support.
Pilot speed, intervention rates, operating hours and pricing remain undisclosed in the November 12 release. Publishing those figures would help customers judge whether Apollo can earn a lasting place on the warehouse floor. GXO announcement