Renault's Calvin trial involves picking up two tires weighing about 30 kg together. The automaker described the task at its Douai factory in a June 26 account of its work with Wandercraft.

Its rollout roadmap extends further: approximately ten robots by the end of 2026, followed by 350 in factories in France and Spain by the end of 2027. Those figures are Renault's targets.

The task at Douai

Renault describes the tire-handling work as a test. It separately gives a 40–50 kg carrying range for Calvin; that broader figure should be read alongside the roughly 30 kg load in the described task.

The company identifies robustness and integration into fast-moving production as remaining challenges. Its account also describes changes made during development, including camera positioning, leg length and software.

How Renault and Wandercraft divided the work

Renault specified factory requirements; Wandercraft developed the robot technology. Before the factory trial, the teams recreated Douai's wheel workshop at the Flins innovation center.

The partnership followed Renault's minority investment, announced on June 6, 2025. That announcement set out plans to develop the Calvin robot family initially for Renault's manufacturing operations. It also envisaged Renault helping industrialize Wandercraft's robots and exoskeletons.

Wandercraft described Calvin-40 as the first robot in that family and said development took 40 days.

What Wandercraft's product page promises

The current Calvin page lists part handling, logistics, picking and kitting, and production operations as applications. Wandercraft says it is expanding from repetitive workflows into more precise handling.

The page gives a failure-rate target below one in 1,000 and describes its safety system as certifiable. We retain those qualifiers when reporting the manufacturer's claims.

Wandercraft currently expects its first series delivery in the first half of 2027. Renault's June account provides the customer-specific milestones: approximately ten robots by late 2026 and 350 by late 2027.

Sources

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