Renault Group and Wandercraft, a French scale-up, are jointly developing Calvin, a mobile humanoid robot now being tested at the Douai plant. The carmaker says around ten units will be deployed by the end of 2026, followed by 350 across its French and Spanish plants by the end of 2027.
It all began with a meeting. On 1 October 2024, at a Cap Digital R&D conference, Laurent Duthoit, described by the group as Renault’s expert in robotics and physical AI, heard Jean-Louis Constanza, co-founder of Wandercraft, announce his plan to build humanoid robots. On 15 October, Duthoit visited Wandercraft’s Paris offices. A few weeks later, around twenty of the scale-up’s engineers toured the Douai plant. Eight months after that first contact, Renault Group announced it was taking a stake in Wandercraft alongside a partnership agreement. The group describes the collaboration as “100% French”.
How much can Calvin lift? 30 kg of tyres at once
Currently under test at Douai, Calvin picks up tyres two at a time, or about thirty kilograms in one go, according to Renault Group. The carmaker puts its payload at between 40 and 50 kilograms, whereas most robots on the market handle 3 to 10 kilograms, it says. The target task is tyre handling, a repetitive effort the group describes as strenuous for an operator.
To stay balanced, Calvin relies on a set of sensors: inertial measurement units in each limb, force sensors under the feet and an RGBD camera that lets it perceive its surroundings. Renault Group credits physical AI with this ability to perceive the real world, adapt to it and switch tasks, which sets Calvin apart from conventional industrial robots dedicated to a single job.
How Renault and Wandercraft are developing Calvin like a car
The two companies manage the robot “as a system”, in the same way a vehicle is developed. Renault Group defines the functional requirements and use cases, while Wandercraft provides the technical answers. The process moves forward in stages: Wandercraft’s Paris laboratories, then the Flins innovation centre, where the Douai wheel workshop has been recreated, and finally the plant itself. Weekly adjustment meetings deal with practical points such as camera height, the length of the robot’s legs and the software.
The group notes that it already operates 11,000 six-axis industrial robots across 23 plants, along with 5,000 AGVs (automated guided vehicles) and 100 AMRs (autonomous mobile handling robots). Each of these robots is confined to a single task.
Renault Group presents the project as a “controlled” disruptive innovation, carried out step by step. Two obstacles remain, according to the group: robustness, and integration into a high-throughput production environment. The carmaker positions Calvin as a complement to operators, not a replacement. Its name pays tribute to Susan Calvin, the “robopsychologist” created by Isaac Asimov.