Embodied AI unveils AIR, a wheeled humanoid robot designed to work beside factory staff

Lausanne-based Embodied AI has unveiled AIR, a two-armed humanoid on wheels with light, tendon-driven arms that yield on contact, at Humanoid Europe 2026 in Munich. The robot learns tasks from human operators and is being tested by manufacturers.

Embodied AI, a start-up founded by robotics researchers at EPFL, has unveiled AIR, a humanoid robot on wheels designed to work next to people on factory floors.

Heavy components, including motors, gearboxes and electronics, sit in the torso, while the arms are light, tendon-driven and yield on contact with an obstacle or a person. AIR moves on wheels rather than legs, which the company says gives it more stability on flat factory floors. It was designed under the ISO/TS 15066 specification for collaborative robot safety, and CE marking is planned for 2027.

“Safety and reliability are non-negotiable requirements of physical AI to enter the real world at scale,” says Francesco Stella, Co-Founder and CEO of Embodied AI.

Tests with manufacturers

An operator controls AIR at the start of each job, and every run is recorded as training data. According to Embodied AI, the robot can typically perform the task on its own within about a month, with operators remaining available for unfamiliar situations. What one robot learns can be shared with others.

Embodied AI says it has signed contracts with major manufacturers worldwide, that AIR is being tested at some of them, and that scaled production is planned. Its software already runs in paid deployments on a separate two-armed industrial robot. In an evaluation by a major consumer electronics manufacturer, it reached 98% reliability on a cable-handling task, against the customer’s target of 90%.