Humans Need Not Apply: EmAI Leads Robotics Project at East Side Fab
EmAI has been part of the EastSideFab Innovation Community since 1 June 2026. What connects us and what the joint project “Humans Need Not Apply” explores.
In this article
Since 1 June 2026, EmAI Robotics GmbH has been a member of the EastSideFab Innovation Community. The board unanimously approved our membership by circular resolution. For us, joining creates an opportunity to bring cognitive robotics closer to practical use together with companies and researchers.
The “Humans Need Not Apply” project
Using humanoids and open-source Vision-Language-Action models, the project evaluates industrial handling, assembly and assistance, aiming to reduce vendor dependence.
- EmAI: Project lead.
- ZeMA: Implementation and programming.
- thyssenkrupp Automotive Body Solutions: Application partner.
- Villeroy & Boch: Application partner.
Duration: 1 June–31 December 2026.
The question is which value-adding tasks today's systems can perform. Official project description at EastSideFab.
A community for trying things out
EastSideFab brings companies, researchers and practitioners together to try new technologies in practice. That fits our approach: learn by doing, gather experience from real deployments and openly discuss what works and where the limits are.
Cognitive robotics develops where people, machines and concrete tasks meet. We see three reasons to work together:
- Practical relevance: Exchange with companies facing specific automation questions.
- Open knowledge: Space for joint tests, honest discussion and shared experience.
- Regional roots: Innovation grounded in the region, in line with our principles: independent, European and practice-oriented.
What we want to contribute
Our starting point is the task itself: Where could a cognitive robot support people? What capabilities would it need? And how would we judge whether using it makes sense?
We want to bring robots into real environments, assess them independently of manufacturers and make the resulting knowledge accessible. That means taking practical limitations as seriously as new possibilities. An impressive demonstration alone is not enough to support a sound decision about everyday operations.
We look forward to joint projects and conversations with people asking similar questions. If you are part of EastSideFab or considering a collaboration, write to us. We answer personally.