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Much has changed in the 16 month since I last set foot inFigure ’s Sunnyvale military headquarters . For one thing , there ’s signage on the outside of what was an otherwise non - descript Silicon Valley business office building in an equally non - descript Silicon Valley berth park . For another , there ’s no longer an empty desk in hatful .
The robotics troupe presently employs 130 engine driver , according to CEO Brett Adcock , who meet me on site for a good look at the company ’s latest humanoid automaton , Figure 02 . Next year , Figure will be using some of its$1.5 billion in fundingto move into young , larger drudge a unforesightful railroad car ride away .
Robots line the buns of the space , in various land of dismantlement . shelf , too , are packed with objet d’art of munition and head by the dozen . A silver build 01 knack on full display . I require to photograph the robot , and was jokingly told it ’s “ former news . ”
Sincemy May 2023 visit , Figure has start the organisation integration and testing backstage of its current space . Adcock refers to it as “ the back , ” despite the fact that it ’s really more off to the side . It ’s here the automaton ’s many components are put through their stride .
The real show , however , is smack in the middle of the basal office space . Caged off from the row of desks , material body railroad engineer go hands - on with the robots here , testing for all manner of real - world oeuvre scenarios . There ’s currently a heavy emphasis on self-propelling forum , a direct Cartesian product of the ship’s company ’s recent pilots with BMW .
in the first place this class , Figure robots were put to study for a couple of weeks at the carmaker’sSpartanburg , South Carolina , plant . agree to Adcock , the party ’s android knead intimately around the clock , seven days a week . While moving totes is a key undertaking , it ’s not the only one the company is presently working on . Figure robots will be returning to the plant in January , this clip for good . Adcock enjoin the initial fleet will be in the mid - to - high single digits .
Automotive has proven to be the most eager to acquire the humanoid configuration constituent . It makes sense : Carmakers have been deploy golem on factory floors for decades now . Competitors Boston Dynamics , Apptronik , and Sanctuary AI have all announce their own buffer with railroad car companies .
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And then , of track , there ’s Tesla ’s Optimus . nimbleness , meanwhile , is sharpen on consumer good , piloting with Amazon and more of late announcing that its Digit robot had move past the pilot stage ata Spanx factory .
1X , meanwhile , recently revealed plans to place the habitation . Like Figure , the decade - old U.S./Norway business firm is well - funded , including backing from OpenAI . As we keep our walk through the space , Adcock motioned to a little portion of the storey devoted to testing Figure 02 in a home - like setup .
This is still extremely other days , however , both in terms of design and market place . Among other thing , the price of these machine will have to drop considerably when targeting consumers . Adcock says he believes Figure will be capable to hit a sub-$20,000 price point — though certainly not this year . In the lag , the company is testing 02 ’s efficaciousness for help out in the kitchen and picking up around the house .
Our tour of duty terminate with a simple demo , with the robot walking toward me as I shoot telecasting . It ’s come in a prospicient means in a short time . Last fourth dimension I was here , the system had n’t take the air at all . physical body was testing the motive power of its legs without a torso attached . The second - coevals robot looks quite different , as well . Its forerunner ’s wires and boards are no longer exposed , and the battery backpack is no more . It ’s now contained entirely inside the torso , alongside Nvidia GPUs and other CPU .
In the video I ask , the golem is put up by a gauntry organization . Adcock say the systems deployed in South Carolina were untethered , but for examination purposes it ’s a lot more effective to extend them through different applications with their system of weights supported .
Even so , it ’s always edifying to see these systems up close . Even if a robot TV is n’t heavy edited , teleoperated , or some other trick of the swap , you never really know how many take the robot required to get things just right . The real tryout , however , will begin January 1 , when Figure ’s automaton refund to the BMW plant .
