Google DeepMind ships Gemini Robotics 2.5 as Apollo 2 humanoids hit Mercedes lines at 96% success
lukas_m_ziegler · x · 2026-11-10
Google DeepMind released Gemini Robotics 2.5, its most capable vision-language-action model, just four months after Gemini Robotics 2.
- Partnering with Apptronik and Mercedes-Benz AG, Apollo 2 humanoids now run automotive kitting on active production lines in Kecskemét, Hungary and Sindelfingen, Germany — picking metal brackets from bulk bins into sequencing containers at a 96% success rate.
- Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas says the model improved dramatically in weeks of post-training with minimal drop-off on the production line.
- Works natively across robot bodies: Apollo 2 with the 22-DoF five-finger SharpaWave hand, and Franka Robotics Duo with parallel grippers.
- Safety also got a major upgrade.
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