Steel coils for the press shop. Delivery and measurement. Pressing blanks. Measurement data. Stamping. Lasering ID-codes onto body parts.

Transporting body components. Welding body components by robot. Bonding roof components by robot. Welding bodies-in-white by robot. The body shop: An overview. Various shots. Tailgate assembly. Engine bonnet assembly. Manual gap measurement. Manual body panel surface checks.

Fitting the “X2” logotype and rear lights to the tailgate panel. Adding the seal and plastic mounts. Tilt assembly in time lapse. Transporting painted bodies. Fitting the wiring harness. Tilt assembly. Various shots. Fitting the transformer. Humans and robots work hand in hand. Axle assembly and marriage. Bolting the floor assembly by hand. Workers wear upper-body exoskeletons. Transporting the front end. Fitting stabilisers. A lower-body exoskeleton provides extra support when the worker is standing or sitting. This shot shows the ergonomic working seat. Detail shots.

Test rig: Tyres, rims, headlights and underfloor are checked. The BMW X2 roller testing: Wheel alignment and brakes are checked. Active driving test: Vehicle data is recorded and collated via a smartphone app. Dynamic testing: The exterior, interior and engine bay are checked.

The steel coils are there to make body panels with. They’re vehicle-specific, so there’s a special type of coil for the bonnet of the X2, for instance. But within a single coil, things like the thickness of the metal can still vary, which can impact the quality of the finished product. What’s new with this system is that each coil is precisely measured. As it’s unrolled, we measure the thickness of the metal, the amount of oil on it, its mechanical properties and so on. This information is useful later on in the process, so we need to be able to trace it back to the right blank. That’s why we laser an ID-code into each one. The idea is to use the parameters we record from this coil system and the laser ID code on the part to adjust the press. That way, we can produce the most perfect product possible. Another important factor is that we can use our data to recognise anything usual well in advance. That way, we can minimise downtimes in production. BMW Group Plant Regensburg was a pioneer in this regard. We developed the technology here with our colleagues from HQ and are now rolling it out at other BMW Group sites as well.

Our colleagues were already working with robots years ago. But today it’s all much more ergonomic. You can move a part that weighs 150kg with just two fingers and manoeuvre it into place very precisely – as you can see here, where the converter is being bolted into place. There used to be actual physical protective fences to keep associates away from the robots and make sure the machines don’t detect an interference and stop working. Nowadays the fences are virtual fences and use sensors to keep our associates are 100% safe. As soon as they enter the protected area around the robot, it switches off automatically so that the worker isn’t injured.

When humans and machines work together here, human sensitivity meets the power of the robot. Humans won’t replace robots – or the other way around. Far more, the two will work hand in hand. A load of 150kg is too much for a human, but a robot can handle it. Moving into the future, there’s still plenty of potential for developing this idea. You could say that a robot with this kind of safety concept is really a high-precision handling machine. It can repeat every move perfectly and do every stage of the work. There’s still plenty of potential here.

The BMW Group uses different sorts of exoskeletons. Some are for the lower body, so that associates can drop their weight down more fully when they are crouching – they basically get to sit down. But we also have exoskeletons like the ones you can see here behind me, for the upper body. You put them on like a backpack and they support your upper arms as you work above shoulder level. So exoskeletons compensate for extreme loads and are pleasant to wear. Our associates are thrilled and really interested in using these new innovations. They appreciate the improved ergonomics. But all of this is completely voluntary, of course. It’s important for associates to influence developments right from the very beginning. That’s why we involve them very early on to get their feedback and make further enhancements to the product together with the manufacturers. Before we can go ahead and roll these products out more widely, we make sure we have a clear thumbs-up from the users. We started experimenting with the lower-body exoskeleton three years ago. It finally went into long-term operation this year. We’re expecting to continue rolling out the upper-body exoskeleton in early 2018. The BMW Group is always interested in innovations. These innovations especially are easiest to roll out if they are genuinely effective. Our associates have to really feel the benefit of these ergonomic supports. When they do, there’s no question of whether to use them or not; people are automatically in favour of them.