Topics
later
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:Figure AI
Apps
Biotech & Health
clime
Image Credits:Figure AI
Cloud Computing
Commerce Department
Crypto
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
fund-raise
Gadgets
game
Government & Policy
computer hardware
Layoffs
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
Security
Social
blank
startup
TikTok
transportation system
speculation
More from TechCrunch
Events
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
newssheet
Podcasts
video
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
chassis today annunciate a “ commercial correspondence ” that will bring its first humanoid robot to a BMW manufacturing facility in South Carolina . The Spartanburg plant is BMW ’s only in the United States . As of 2019 , the 8 million - straight - foot campus blow the highest issue among the German manufacturer ’s factory anywhere in the world .
BMW has not disclosed how many Figure 01 poser it will deploy initially . Nor do we love exactly what job the automaton will be tax with when it starts body of work . flesh did , however , corroborate with TechCrunch that it is begin with an initial five tasks , which will be roam out one at a time .
While folks in the outer space have been disdainfully tossing out the full term “ general purpose ” to line these sorts of organization , it ’s crucial to temper expectations and point out that they will all come as single- or multi - purpose system , growing their skillset over sentence . Figure CEO Brett Adcock likens the approach to an app storage — something that Boston Dynamics presently offers with its Spot robot via SDK .
Likely initial applications include standard manufacturing job such as box moving , pick and place and pallet unloading and cargo — fundamentally the sorting of repetitive project for which factory proprietor lay claim to have difficulty retaining human doer . Adcock says that Figure expects to ship its first commercial robot within a year , an challenging timeline even for a company that prides itself on quick turnaround times .
The initial batch of software will be largely determined by Figure ’s former partners like BMW . The scheme will , for example , in all likelihood be working with sheet metallic element to start . Adcock adds that the caller has signed up additional clients , but refuse to disclose their names . It seems probable Figure will alternatively opt to annunciate each individually to keep the news cycle spinning in the intervening 12 months .
Unlike some other humanoid clothes designer ( including Agility ) , Figure is focused on create a deft , human like hand for manipulation . The cerebration behind such an end effector is the same that ’s driving many toward the humanoid form factor in the first place : Namely , we ’ve design our workspaces with us in idea . Adcock alludes to estimate 01 being tasked with an initial lot of jobs that require high manual dexterity .
As for the importance of legs , the executive suggest that their grandness for maneuvering during certain tasks is as — or more — crucial than thing like walk up stair and over uneven terrain , which tend to get most of the love during these conversation .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Training , meanwhile , will necessitate a mix of approaches , including reinforcement encyclopaedism , simulation and teleoperation to avail the golem out of potential jamming . physique 01 will very much be see on the line of work , as well , refining its approach during real - world testing , much as we human beings do . As for whether the systems will be long - terminus additions to the BMW stock , that count entirely on whether the robots are able to meet the automaker ’s intragroup expectation of output . meanwhile , Figure is efficaciously take the system through RaaS ( robotics as a servicing ) , a model it expect to exert for the foreseeable future .
