Measurement technology company Hexagon has launched AEON, a humanoid robot designed specifically for industrial applications including aerospace manufacturing and component inspection.
The humanoid robot combines advanced locomotion capabilities with AI-driven spatial intelligence and precision sensor systems to address labor shortages across industrial sectors. AEON features battery swapping mechanisms for continuous operation and multimodal sensor fusion for environmental awareness.
Aerospace manufacturer Pilatus and automotive component supplier Schaeffler will pilot the humanoid robot across manipulation, machine tending, part inspection, and reality capture applications. The partnerships aim to validate AEON’s capabilities in production environments before broader commercial deployment.
“Hexagon’s legacy in precision measurement and sensor technologies has always been about enabling next-generation autonomy,” says Ola Rollén, chairman of the board at Hexagon. “AEON represents a state-of-the-art, industrially bespoke humanoid designed to help customers drive sustainable growth in the face of structural demographic changes.”
The robot incorporates Hexagon’s proprietary precision measurement technologies to enable high-accuracy task performance while maintaining mobility. Spatial intelligence capabilities allow AEON to merge data from multiple sensors to understand environments and optimize mission execution.
Applications span manipulation tasks, asset inspection, digital twin creation through reality capture, and operator support functions. The system targets automotive, aerospace, transportation, manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics sectors.
“With AEON, we’re advancing physical AI to tackle real operational challenges, bridging cutting-edge technology with practical industry needs,” says Arnaud Robert, president of Hexagon’s Robotics division. The company plans to deploy AEON in production environments over the next six months before expanding commercial rollout.
Pilatus will explore humanoid applications in Swiss manufacturing operations to maintain competitiveness in global markets. “Its unique locomotion, sensors, and on-board intelligence provides agility and versatility and opens a multitude of opportunities to drive automation and digitization in our daily operations,” said Roman Emmenegger, vice president of manufacturing at Pilatus.
Schaeffler will pilot the technology across multiple factory use cases while sharing manufacturing expertise. “By leveraging disruptive technologies such as humanoid robots, Schaeffler paves the way to becoming the leading motion technology company,” says Sebastian Jonas, senior vice president advanced production technology at Schaeffler.
The AEON system uses NVIDIA accelerated computing, NVIDIA Omniverse, and NVIDIA Jetson platforms for processing capabilities. Microsoft Azure provides scalable development infrastructure and on-demand training capabilities, while maxon actuators enable locomotion across multiple environments.
Stockholm, Sweden-based Hexagon operates globally with approximately 24,800 employees across 50 countries and net sales of approximately €5.4 billion (US$5.9 billion). The company develops measurement technologies for manufacturing, construction, mining, and autonomous systems applications.
