All about Artificial Intelligence
You may not know the company by name yet. But take note: Figure AI will be one of the world’s leading companies. It was founded in 2022 in California, USA, with the goal of delivering a “commercially viable general-purpose humanoid robot.”
Not only did it work, but it all happened very quickly. The startup has already raised US$675 million to date. And, within a few months, it launched its first model, called Figure 01.
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The machine caught the market’s attention, to the point that BMW ordered some units to use in its production line.
As things evolve very quickly in this field, in just two years Figure has already prepared the second generation of its humanoid robot.
And the promise is that it will be much more advanced than its older brother.
What changes in Figure 02
The engineers say they’ve performed a “complete hardware and software overhaul” that includes upgrades to the AI, computer vision, battery, electronics, sensors and actuators. Highlights include onboard microphones and speakers that support one-on-one conversations with humans. That’s because the humanoid is powered by a custom AI model trained in collaboration with OpenAI. The idea is that you’ll be able to talk to it – and give it specific commands (assuming it’s been trained to do so).
The second generation of the humanoid robot brings several software updates – Image: Disclosure/Figure AI The Figure 02 also has something called a vision language model, which will allow it to understand what is captured by the camera lenses and make decisions related to it. As for the cameras themselves, the 02 sports six RGB cameras that show the world from different angles. The robot also benefits from a 3x increase in its computing power. Finally, a new custom battery pack promises to deliver 50% more performance and durability.
More beautiful and with almost human hands
We talked about the 02 on the inside, but there have also been some important changes on the outside. The robot has a similar height to its predecessor, but the design has undergone several improvements.
The main one is the finish. The chrome metal of the 01 is gone and an elegant matte black is introduced in the 02. The internal wiring also disappeared in the second generation.
The design differences are very clear in the montage above – Image: Disclosure/Figure AI
The most impressive thing, however, is the hands of this machine. The engineers took great care to make them visually similar to ours. More than that, they try to truly simulate human hands, especially the force when we close our fingers.
According to the company, this allows the 02 to perform “a wide range of human-like tasks.”
The hands of this humanoid deserve a separate chapter – Image: Disclosure/Figure AI
Figure AI also manufactured custom motors for the robot to optimize the power and performance of each joint. The motors are integrated into the humanoid’s joint drive trains.
Figure AI has not released any further information about its second-generation robot. We at Olhar Digital will remain vigilant. And BMW will certainly want a contract update to feature this new model.
The information is from New Atlas.
