Figure 01 (humanoid robot)

2024: Learning skills by monitoring people

In early January 2023, Figure announced that its humanoid robot Figure 01 was able to independently learn how to perform certain tasks. And he does this by observing people.

In a conventional environment, as noted, humanoid general-purpose robots will have to perform a variety of jobs. They will have to understand methods and goals, as well as use available tools and devices. At the same time, they must adapt to a variety of environmental conditions. Such machines will actually be useless if a team of programmers is needed for their daily work.

Figure 01 is able to independently learn to perform certain tasks

Figure is focused on self-sufficient humanoid robots that would theoretically be able to reach any workplace and eventually learn to complete any task humans perform. And this is not just a research program: the company aims to get its products on the market as soon as possible, start doing useful work and pay off. The Figure 01 robot demonstrates the corresponding capabilities.

It is reported, in particular, that, watching people, the humanoid himself learned to make coffee. In response to the voice command, the robot opens the top hatch of the coffee machine, inserts a coffee capsule inside, closes the hatch and presses the button. A person takes the finished drink on his own. Figure 01 learned to perform this task from video materials, which he spent about 10 hours watching and analyzing. As a result, a new autonomous action has been added to the humanoid library, which can be transferred to any other similar humanoid. Thus, an important step has been taken towards creating fully autonomous robots capable of learning from being near humans. Figure calls this achievement "the advent of ChatGPT for humanoid robotics."^[1]

2023: Product Announcement

In March 2023, Figure unveiled what it said was the world's first humanoid robot that could think, learn and interact with the world around it. The novelty was called Figure 01. It is designed to solve the problem of lack of unskilled labor and eliminate the need for a person to work in unsafe places.

Figure 01 is able to think, learn and interact with the world

The speed of movement of the humanoid robot Figure 01 is 3.6 km/h. The device runs on battery power for 5 hours with a payload of 20 kg. The robot is 168 cm tall and weighs 60 kg. Figure 01 has 25 levels of freedom. The robot is able to bend, lift an object weighing up to 20 kg from the floor and put it on the cabinet. By the end of 2023, the developers intend to improve hand mobility, and in 2024 Figure will launch a pilot program, within which 50 robots will work in stock.

Compared to the Tesla Optimus robot, the Figure 01 has an improved electric drive that makes the movements of the humanoid robot smoother. The startup also hopes that in the future the gait of the humanoid will not differ from the gait of a person. As of March 6, 2023, five copies of Figure 01 have already been created. Figure's team consists of 40 industry experts with expertise in AI and humanoids at Boston Dynamics, Tesla, IHMC, GoogleX, Cruise and Apple SPG.

According to Figure Chief Technology Officer Jerry Pratt, technologies available for 2023 in robotics achieve approximately 60% of human characteristics: degree of freedom, peak speeds and torque. That is, now it is impossible to create a robot that will be better than humans. This approach helped Figure limit the design of the machine to considerations of commercial expediency. Pratt added that Figure has the potential to influence the largest industry on the planet and contribute to the early stages of AI and robotics to help pave the way for a positive AI future for humanity.^[2]

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