The car brand has signed a deal with FigureAI to bring “new forms of automation” to its manufacturing process. The human-like robots are intended to do “tedious and dangerous” work on the factory floor and help with various manufacturing processes.
BMW has signed an agreement to use “humanoid” robots in one of its factories. The robots, which are intended to work more flexibly than conventional industrial robots, are intended to support various parts of the manufacturing process. The associated press release talks about the “use of humanoid robots in automobile production” and says the robots would concentrate on “difficult, unsafe or tedious tasks”.
Single-purpose robots have to go
The press release further explains that in the first phase of their collaboration, the two companies will jointly “identify initial use cases for the use of Figure robots in automobile production.” The exact tasks of the robots do not seem to have been determined yet. After the functions of Figure 01 (that’s the name of the robot) have been clarified, some of them will be used in a BMW production facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
“Single-purpose robots have saturated the commercial market for decades, but the potential of general-purpose robots is completely untapped,” said Brett Adcock, CEO of FigureAI. “Figure’s robots will enable businesses to increase productivity, reduce costs and create a safer, more consistent environment.”
Figure regularly updates his followers on social media about Figure 01’s latest progress.
Figure 01 has learned to make coffee ☕️
End-to-end AI system, trained in 10 hours, just by watching humans make coffee
Our neural networks are taking video in, trajectories out
Join us to ship a fleet of AI robots: pic.twitter.com/DNAZWnaqUv
— Figure (@Figure_robot) January 7, 2024
Special class humanoids
The Californian robotics company FigureAI says it is the first AI robotics company to bring a universally applicable humanoid to life. Figure 01 was designed in human form. “With the first humanoid at our side, we will be able to create and produce so much more, addressing drastic labor shortages and reducing the number of workers in insecure jobs,” Figure says on its website.
The robots are described as “general-purpose robots,” meaning they can be used for a variety of physical tasks. The bipedal robot stands 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds, and has five-fingered hands that the company says can be used to construct objects.
© Figure
Technology companies worldwide are currently racing to develop the first generation of humanoid robots. Although robots have been used in factories and warehouses for years, the human-like shape of this new generation of robots promises many additional advantages for more demanding industrial tasks. Figure emphasizes that they are not aimed at replacing people’s jobs. BMW is not the only company in the automotive industry that relies on humanoid robots. Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has already presented the Optimus Prime, which is being promoted not only as a potential support in Tesla factories, but also as a future helper for the general public.
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