Accenture and Schaeffler Pave the Way for Industrial Humanoid Robots with NVIDIA and Microsoft Technologies
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Schaeffler AG are collaborating to revolutionize industrial automation through physical AI and robotics, as showcased at Hannover Messe 2025. The partnership leverages technologies from NVIDIA and Microsoft to optimize various work scenarios, from human-centric to full automation.
The companies developed a proof-of-concept demonstrating AI-powered simulations for Schaeffler's facilities across three levels:
- Planning ideal facility layouts using digital twins on NVIDIA Omniverse
- Implementing physical AI and humanoid robots for material handling and task learning
- Optimizing live robotics operations using Microsoft Fabric and generative AI
According to Accenture's research, 49% of factory managers expect autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to be important in future factories, while 43% believe humanoid robots will become standard in assembly processes. The collaboration includes strategic investments in robotics companies and demonstrates advanced capabilities in simulation, task learning, and operational optimization.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) e Schaeffler AG stanno collaborando per rivoluzionare l'automazione industriale attraverso l'IA fisica e la robotica, come dimostrato all'Hannover Messe 2025. La partnership sfrutta le tecnologie di NVIDIA e Microsoft per ottimizzare vari scenari lavorativi, da quelli centrati sull'uomo fino alla piena automazione.
Le aziende hanno sviluppato un proof-of-concept che dimostra simulazioni alimentate dall'IA per gli impianti di Schaeffler su tre livelli:
- Pianificazione di layout ideali degli impianti utilizzando gemelli digitali su NVIDIA Omniverse
- Implementazione di IA fisica e robot umanoidi per la gestione dei materiali e l'apprendimento dei compiti
- Ottimizzazione delle operazioni robotiche dal vivo utilizzando Microsoft Fabric e IA generativa
Secondo la ricerca di Accenture, il 49% dei manager di fabbrica si aspetta che i robot mobili autonomi (AMR) saranno importanti nelle fabbriche del futuro, mentre il 43% crede che i robot umanoidi diventeranno standard nei processi di assemblaggio. La collaborazione include investimenti strategici in aziende di robotica e dimostra capacità avanzate in simulazione, apprendimento dei compiti e ottimizzazione operativa.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) y Schaeffler AG están colaborando para revolucionar la automatización industrial a través de la IA física y la robótica, como se mostró en Hannover Messe 2025. La asociación aprovecha las tecnologías de NVIDIA y Microsoft para optimizar varios escenarios laborales, desde los centrados en el ser humano hasta la automatización total.
Las empresas desarrollaron una prueba de concepto que demuestra simulaciones impulsadas por IA para las instalaciones de Schaeffler en tres niveles:
- Planificación de diseños ideales de instalaciones utilizando gemelos digitales en NVIDIA Omniverse
- Implementación de IA física y robots humanoides para la manipulación de materiales y el aprendizaje de tareas
- Optimización de operaciones robóticas en tiempo real utilizando Microsoft Fabric e IA generativa
Según la investigación de Accenture, el 49% de los gerentes de fábrica espera que los robots móviles autónomos (AMR) sean importantes en las fábricas del futuro, mientras que el 43% cree que los robots humanoides se convertirán en estándar en los procesos de ensamblaje. La colaboración incluye inversiones estratégicas en empresas de robótica y demuestra capacidades avanzadas en simulación, aprendizaje de tareas y optimización operativa.
액센츄어 (NYSE: ACN)와 샤플러 AG는 2025 하노버 메세에서 선보인 물리적 AI와 로봇 공학을 통해 산업 자동화를 혁신하기 위해 협력하고 있습니다. 이 파트너십은 NVIDIA와 Microsoft의 기술을 활용하여 인간 중심의 작업부터 완전 자동화까지 다양한 작업 시나리오를 최적화합니다.
두 회사는 샤플러의 시설에 대한 AI 기반 시뮬레이션을 보여주는 개념 증명을 개발했습니다. 이 시뮬레이션은 세 가지 수준에서 진행됩니다:
- NVIDIA Omniverse에서 디지털 트윈을 사용하여 이상적인 시설 레이아웃을 계획합니다.
- 물질 처리 및 작업 학습을 위한 물리적 AI 및 휴머노이드 로봇을 구현합니다.
- Microsoft Fabric 및 생성적 AI를 사용하여 실시간 로봇 작업을 최적화합니다.
액센츄어의 연구에 따르면, 49%의 공장 관리자가 자율 이동 로봇(AMR)이 미래의 공장에서 중요할 것이라고 예상하며, 43%는 휴머노이드 로봇이 조립 과정의 표준이 될 것이라고 믿고 있습니다. 이 협력은 로봇 회사에 대한 전략적 투자를 포함하며, 시뮬레이션, 작업 학습 및 운영 최적화에서 고급 기능을 보여줍니다.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) et Schaeffler AG collaborent pour révolutionner l'automatisation industrielle grâce à l'IA physique et à la robotique, comme le montre le salon Hannover Messe 2025. Ce partenariat tire parti des technologies de NVIDIA et Microsoft pour optimiser divers scénarios de travail, allant de l'humain au plein automatisme.
Les entreprises ont développé une preuve de concept démontrant des simulations alimentées par l'IA pour les installations de Schaeffler à trois niveaux :
- Planification de configurations idéales d'installations à l'aide de jumeaux numériques sur NVIDIA Omniverse
- Mise en œuvre de l'IA physique et de robots humanoïdes pour la gestion des matériaux et l'apprentissage des tâches
- Optimisation des opérations robotiques en direct à l'aide de Microsoft Fabric et d'IA générative
Selon une étude d'Accenture, 49 % des responsables d'usine s'attendent à ce que les robots mobiles autonomes (AMR) soient importants dans les usines du futur, tandis que 43 % estiment que les robots humanoïdes deviendront la norme dans les processus d'assemblage. La collaboration comprend des investissements stratégiques dans des entreprises de robotique et démontre des capacités avancées en simulation, apprentissage des tâches et optimisation opérationnelle.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) und Schaeffler AG arbeiten zusammen, um die industrielle Automatisierung durch physische KI und Robotik zu revolutionieren, wie auf der Hannover Messe 2025 gezeigt. Die Partnerschaft nutzt Technologien von NVIDIA und Microsoft, um verschiedene Arbeitsszenarien zu optimieren, von menschenzentrierten bis hin zu vollautomatisierten.
Die Unternehmen haben einen Proof of Concept entwickelt, der KI-gestützte Simulationen für die Einrichtungen von Schaeffler auf drei Ebenen demonstriert:
- Planung idealer Anlagenlayouts mithilfe digitaler Zwillinge auf NVIDIA Omniverse
- Implementierung physischer KI und humanoider Roboter für Materialhandling und Aufgabenlernen
- Optimierung von Live-Roboteroperationen mit Microsoft Fabric und generativer KI
Laut einer Untersuchung von Accenture erwarten 49 % der Fabrikleiter, dass autonome mobile Roboter (AMRs) in zukünftigen Fabriken wichtig sein werden, während 43 % glauben, dass humanoide Roboter in den Montageprozessen zum Standard werden. Die Zusammenarbeit umfasst strategische Investitionen in Robotikunternehmen und zeigt fortgeschrittene Fähigkeiten in Simulation, Aufgabenlernen und operativer Optimierung.
- Strategic partnership with major tech companies (NVIDIA, Microsoft) strengthens Accenture's position in industrial automation
- Investment in Sanctuary AI (March 2024) expands robotics capabilities
- Development of innovative AI-powered simulation solutions for manufacturing optimization
- None.
Insights
Accenture's partnership with Schaeffler represents a strategic move into the evolving industrial automation landscape through physical AI and robotics integration. The collaboration demonstrates three critical capabilities that position Accenture favorably in this high-growth market:
First, their ability to create comprehensive digital twins on NVIDIA's Omniverse platform enables manufacturing clients to simulate optimal facility layouts and automation scenarios before physical implementation—potentially reducing commissioning times and capital expenditure risks significantly.
Second, the demonstration of humanoid robot integration showcases Accenture's capability to help clients adopt emerging technologies like Agility Robotics' Digit and Sanctuary AI's Phoenix (a company Accenture strategically invested in) for material handling tasks. This positions them at the forefront of a transformative shift in industrial operations, with
Third, the integration with Microsoft Fabric creates a unified data platform that enables real-time robotics optimization and generative AI-powered operational insights, addressing immediate efficiency challenges while laying groundwork for future factory intelligence.
This proof-of-concept represents less a significant immediate revenue driver and more a strategic positioning move that demonstrates Accenture's ability to integrate multiple advanced technologies (NVIDIA simulation platforms, Microsoft data solutions, and physical robotics) into cohesive industrial solutions—a crucial differentiation as manufacturing clients navigate automation challenges.
This collaboration between Accenture and Schaeffler signals an important strategic positioning in the rapidly evolving industrial automation landscape, particularly in the emerging humanoid robotics segment. What makes this development noteworthy is how it addresses three critical pain points facing manufacturers:
The approach tackles manufacturing flexibility challenges through digital twin simulations that allow testing multiple automation scenarios before physical implementation—particularly valuable as manufacturers face unpredictable demand fluctuations requiring rapid production adaptability. By simulating various robot deployment configurations in NVIDIA's Omniverse, companies can determine optimal automation levels without costly trial-and-error.
The integration of humanoid robots like Digit and Phoenix represents a potential solution to persistent labor shortages in manufacturing. Unlike specialized industrial robots, these general-purpose humanoids can perform diverse tasks within existing human-designed workflows without requiring complete facility redesigns. The imitation learning approach demonstrated (where robots learn by observing human workers) could significantly reduce programming complexity and deployment times.
Most compelling is the practical integration of these emerging technologies with Microsoft Fabric for operational intelligence, creating a complete solution linking simulation to real-world execution. This bridges the common gap between proof-of-concept demonstrations and practical deployment—often the greatest hurdle in industrial innovation.
While not announcing specific revenue figures, this positions Accenture as an integration partner for manufacturers navigating complex technology adoption decisions across robotics, AI, and digital twins—increasingly critical as labor challenges and flexibility requirements accelerate automation investments.
Agility Robotics’ Digit performs material handling, such as tote handling and transport to kitting and commissioning areas, in a digital twin of a Schaeffler facility.
At Hannover Messe 2025, the companies show how to optimize various work scenarios, from human-centric to human/robot collaboration and full automation, with the latest simulation, AI and data technologies from NVIDIA and Microsoft. These scenarios include industrial automation systems, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), Schaeffler’s mobile manipulator cobot EMMA, and general-purpose humanoid robots such as Agility Robotics’ Digit and Sanctuary AI’s
“As a leading motion technology company, Schaeffler leverages disruptive innovations such as physical AI, digital twins, and humanoid robots to enhance operational excellence across our global manufacturing network,” said Andreas Schick, Chief Operating Officer at Schaeffler AG. “In collaboration with strong partners like Accenture, we constantly explore how disruptive technologies from NVIDIA and Microsoft can increase our flexibility and efficiency. This is how we want to jointly shape the production of the future.”
“Physical AI is reinventing industrial automation as it offers efficient ways to train and control entire fleets of AMRs, mobile adaptive manipulators and general-purpose humanoid robots,” said Patrick Vollmer, Global Industry Group Lead, Industrials, Accenture. “Our collaboration with Schaeffler, Microsoft and NVIDIA shows how clients and strategic partners can co-innovate on turning emerging technologies into solutions to help manufacturers tackle flexibility, productivity and workforce challenges.”
The companies developed a proof-of-concept (PoC) demonstrating the benefits AI-powered simulations can bring to Schaeffler’s factories and distribution centers on three levels:
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Planning the ideal facility: Accenture’s capability to build digital twins of factories and warehouses on the NVIDIA Omniverse development platform allows Schaeffler to simulate and identify the best layout for facilities up-front and thus reduce commissioning times. This includes virtually positioning production lines and kitting stations for dynamic material flow and seamless collaboration between humans and robots.
Virtual commissioning can also help Schaeffler determine the right degree of automation for each facility. The PoC covers scenarios with different types and sophistication of physical AI: primarily manual work; AMRs supporting transport tasks; and adaptive manipulators such as EMMA and general-purpose humanoid robots in highly automated facilities.
Half of the factory managers of industrial companies (49% ) expect AMRs to be a key element of future factories and43% believe humanoid robots will become a standard component of assembly processes, according to a recent Accenture research report.
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Paving the way for physical AI and general-purpose humanoid robots: Accenture and Schaeffler are starting to adopt Mega, an NVIDIA Omniverse Blueprint, to test robot fleets, including general-purpose humanoid robots, in industrial digital twins of factories and warehouses.
The PoC shows Agility Robotics’ Digit performing material handling, such as tote handling and transport to kitting and commissioning areas. It also demonstrates how Sanctuary AI’s multi-dexterous humanoid robot,Phoenix , learns real-world tasks in Omniverse by observing simulations (Accenture made a strategic investment in Sanctuary AI in March 2024). An example is compiling spare part kits for individual orders in one of Schaeffler’s spare part centers. The imitation learning technique is supported by vision AI applications such as NVIDIA Metropolis, which captures the movements of human workers and humanoid robots in the real world and translates them back into simulations in Omniverse.
As Accenture found in its 2025 Technology Vision, humanoids are appealing because of their versatility. They will fit quickly and easily into a human-centric world, accessing physical spaces and participating in workflows initially designed for people.
“Tomorrow’s factories require complex collaboration between humans, industrial automation systems and multi-robot fleets,” said Mike Geyer, head of digital twins at NVIDIA. “By using Mega and NVIDIA Omniverse to simulate and test various types of robots at scale in industrial digital twins, Accenture and Schaeffler are reinventing their industrial operations with physical AI.”
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Optimizing live robotics operations: Accenture and Avanade, its joint venture with Microsoft, are collaborating with Schaeffler to use simulated data from Omniverse to optimize the physical performance of robots in the warehouse and on the shopfloor – for example, to avoid congestion. Data from various simulated scenarios is fed into Microsoft Fabric, a unified, AI-powered data platform. Site managers and workers responsible for operations can then compare key performance indicators, such as availability, utilization and overall equipment effectiveness for these scenarios to identify potential issues in time to act.
Accenture and Avanade developed a solution for Schaeffler's production siteSchweinfurt, Germany , that uses MS Fabric in combination with a generative AI-powered factory operations agent. It helps staff gain production insights and solve issues faster by letting them ask questions in natural language. Moving forward, virtual factories can be onboarded, allowing engineers and planners to interact intuitively with simulation data of robots and production systems, for example, by pulling up dashboards and changing simulation parameters using voice commands.
* Schaeffler and Accenture are presenting the industrial automation showcase at Accenture’s Hannover Messe presence in Hall 17, booth E32. Members of the press can contact Jens Derksen (jens.derksen@accenture.com, +49 175 5761393) to receive a demonstration.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 801,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com
About Schaeffler
Schaeffler Group – We pioneer motion
The Schaeffler Group has been driving forward groundbreaking inventions and developments in the field of motion technology for over 75 years. With innovative technologies, products, and services for electric mobility, CO₂-efficient drives, chassis solutions and renewable energies, the company is a reliable partner for making motion more efficient, intelligent, and sustainable – over the entire life cycle. Schaeffler describes its comprehensive range of products and services in the mobility ecosystem by means of eight product families: From bearing solutions and all types of linear guidance systems through to repair and monitoring services. Schaeffler is with around 120,000 employees and more than 250 locations in 55 countries, one of the world’s largest family-owned companies and one of Germany’s most innovative companies.
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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250331854959/en/
Jens R. Derksen
Accenture Global Media Relations
+49 17557161393
jens.derksen@accenture.com
Rebecca Schum
Schaeffler AG
Head of Communications Digitalization, IT & Advanced Technologies
+49 151 5267 8948
presse@schaeffler.com
Source: Accenture
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