Figure 01 humanoid prepares for debut in BMW assembly line

Caliber.Az has reprinted an article originally published by New Atlas, highlighting recent strides in robotics. Six months ago, Figure, a shiny silver humanoid robot, achieved a notable milestone by commencing its role at a BMW manufacturing facility.

Six months ago, Figure introduced its shiny silver humanoid robot, which began its employment at a BMW manufacturing plant. The robot has been undergoing training, and a recent video demonstrates its progress as a versatile worker. Numerous AI-powered humanoid robots are currently in development, utilizing various hardware and learning methods, all aimed at achieving the common objective of replacing human tasks more affordably and reliably.

As these companies expand the capabilities of robots, they could increase their sales, possibly separating economic growth from population growth and tapping into a labor source constrained only by resources. While this prospect might seem fantastical, the robots' hardware appears remarkably capable. Although the AI models that train and control these robots are still in their early stages of development, they are advancing rapidly. The shift is underscored when these machines, like Figure, begin to communicate using voice engines and language models from OpenAI, marking a departure from traditional industrial robots.

True general-purpose humanoid robots are still a distant goal, but companies developing them are eager to deploy them in simple yet practical tasks within real-world customer operations as soon as possible. This early deployment phase is primarily aimed at gathering data and educating customers on integrating these advanced AI-powered employees rather than solely generating revenue. However, industries like car manufacturing are emerging as pivotal arenas for the initial adoption of humanoid robots.

For instance, Apptronik has partnered with Mercedes to trial its Apollo robot, while even the well-established Boston Dynamics Atlas robot is being trained for tasks in automotive manufacturing. Tesla, known for its expansive car production facilities, is utilizing its Optimus robot internally for training and testing purposes. Brett Adcock, Founder of Figure, suggests that having external customers who can terminate contracts if performance fails to meet expectations could offer a competitive edge over Tesla's internal deployment strategy.

Today, we have the opportunity to observe the Figure robot's progress through the fully autonomous 'BMW Full Use Case' video below. While not the most groundbreaking humanoid robot demonstration we've witnessed, there are several notable advancements. The Figure 01 robot is mastering the ability to grasp large, intricate shapes using its rubber-tipped fingers, demonstrating careful movement without collisions—an achievement that might not yet be entrusted to children. Another significant feat is its capability to accurately place a large plate onto a jig, even when the plate obstructs the necessary locating pegs.

Handling two smaller pieces simultaneously is less remarkable compared to human dexterity, yet the robot correctly identifies its mistake in orientation, aligns them appropriately on the jig, and corrects their placement by tapping them into position with its hand. This self-correction underscores the robot's evolving capability to learn from errors autonomously.