Humanoid robots have come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of years, but the grand promises of factories filled with bipedal bots performing meaningful tasks, or robotic home helpers doing mundane chores, somehow still feel a little distant.
Enter Figure 02, a humanoid robot created by California-based Figure. In a video shared on Wednesday by Figure founder and CEO Brett Adcock, we see Figure 02 performing a chore that most folks would run a mile from if given half a chance: Doing the laundry.
The footage (below) shows Figure 02 grabbing garments from the basket and depositing them into the washer. It does it with ease and efficiency, and if it were at all human we might even say it does it with enthusiasm. But that’s probably going a step too far.
Adcock’s little kids look on with glee, probably thinking, “This is awesome, by the time I’m an adult, there’s no way on earth I’ll be wasting time on this laborious nonsense.” And they may well be right. While Figure’s robot might not be quite ready to make decisions on what wash cycle to select, which buttons to press, and what underwear to trash because it’s just too far gone, the ability to competently take such steps can’t be too far off.
Figure’s CEO notes in another post that the robot’s actions are not teleoperated and that it’s powered by Helix, Figure’s bespoke AI model.
Truth be told, Figure 02 isn’t the only humanoid robot that looks handy around the house. 1X Technologies, for example, is developing the Neo Gamma robot, a humanoid home assistant capable of human-like movements and object manipulation, as well as advanced conversation, and which is geared specifically toward household tasks and companionship.
Figure’s robot, on the other hand, is currently being pitched more toward industrial work than home help. While the company is set to begin testing Figure 02 in home settings this year, its main focus for the 5-foot-6-inch robot is currently on industrial applications.
Adcock’s company is targeting environments such as auto manufacturing plants and has even collaborated with BMW, sending the robot into its South Carolina facility for a trial performing various tasks on the work floor.
So, while the home use case is certainly on Figure’s roadmap, for now it’s sticking with structured, safer environments before considering any kind of consumer adoption. Still, if it can already fill a washer with ease, think what it’ll be able to do around the home in just a few years from now …
