A hot potato: The prospect of humanoid robots building more humanoid robots sounds like something from science fiction, but an Austin-based company has just signed a deal that could eventually lead to this scenario. It's inevitably caused more fears about human jobs being lost, but the company behind the machines says it will leave employees more time for "creative, thought-intensive projects." Robot-maker Apptronik has announced a pilot partnership with American firm Jabil. In addition to its supply chain services primarily serving OEMs, Jabil is involved in designing, engineering, and manufacturing electronic circuit boards and systems.Jabil said that it has several customers who are developing robots and warehouse automation. The new deal will see it provide a factory environment that will offer real-world validation testing of Apptronik Apollo robots, ahead of scaling the robot for manufacturing. The 5-foot 8-inch, 160-pound robots have a 4-hour-per-battery-pack runtime and a 55-pound payload.The pilot program will see the robots carry out an array of simple, repetitive tasks such as inspection, sorting, kitting, lineside delivery, fixture placement, and sub-assembly.Jabil also said it has agreed to begin producing the Apollo robots in its factories, meaning that should the pilot program work out, these robots will eventually be put to work building more of themselves.The idea of AI-powered robots working tirelessly to create more robots sounds concerning. Apptronik told TechCrunch this is still a ways off, though it is targeting 2026 to begin manufacturing commercial units. // Related StoriesBefore we start to worry about robots building more robots, there's the pressing issue of how this type of increased automation will impact human jobs.The makers of automation/AI systems regularly claim that their products will help workers rather than replace them, with the machines carrying out more repetitive and monotonous tasks so humans can concentrate on other work.Apptronik followed the same line, stating that its robots will give people more time for projects that the machines cannot do. The announcement says those whose tasks have been taken by the Apollo robots could spend more time on "creative, thought-intensive projects" like writing resumes, probably.This is the second major pilot deal entered into by Apptronik. It signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz in March 2024 that saw Apollo put to work on certain tasks on the automaker's production lines.In January last year, BMW announced that humanoid robots would begin working at its vehicle manufacturing plants, starting in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The 5-foot 6-inch, 130-pound robots, made by Californian Robotics startup Figure, were successfully tested at the facility in June, when they inserted sheet metal parts that were assembled as part of the chassis.