Figure releases second-generation humanoid robot, with AI reasoning capability tripled
2024-08-07
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Although Figure has significantly improved the appearance and functionality of its robots, taking an important step towards commercializing AI technology, the hardware aspects of the technology may still need to be further strengthened.
Figure 02(02:02)
On the evening of August 6th, Beijing time, Figure, a well-known Silicon Valley embodied intelligence startup, launched its next-generation humanoid robot Figure 02. The company said it is one step closer to its goal of selling humanoid robots to industrial users.
Compared with Figure 01, the black body finish of the second-generation humanoid robot looks cooler, and the cable packaging on the robot has become hidden. The company introduced that the hardware and software of Figure 02 have been redesigned to improve key technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer vision, batteries, sensors and actuators.
The new version of Figure 02 is 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 70 kilograms. It can work continuously for 5 hours and move at a speed of 1.2 meters per second. The power system is electric. In the demonstration video released by Figure, many close-ups of Figure 02's hands can be seen. Figure introduced that the new generation of dexterous hands has 16 degrees of freedom and a load capacity comparable to that of humans. It can grasp objects of 25 kilograms, which is 5 kilograms more than the previous generation.
In terms of specific performance, with the support of the OpenAI large model, Figure 02 can communicate with people through the built-in microphone and speaker; Figure 02 also has 6 RGB cameras embedded in the head and front and back of the body, which the robot can use to perceive the physical world.
Figure said that Figure 02 has 3 times more onboard computing and AI reasoning capabilities than the previous generation. The company added that this allows the robot to perform tasks in the real world completely autonomously. In addition, battery performance has also been upgraded. The first generation had a battery life of 5 hours, and the battery capacity of Figure 02 has increased by 50%. Figure founder and CEO Brett Adcock said that he hopes Figure 02 will be able to work about 20 hours a day.
Figure 02 Voice System
Brett Adcock said that the world is currently facing a labor shortage. In the United States alone, there are more than 10 million vacancies, of which 7 million are important positions in warehouses, transportation and retail. In addition, the aging population has made it increasingly difficult for companies to expand their workforce. In order to break this social bottleneck and allow the labor force to continue to grow, companies need higher productivity, which means more automation is needed to support it.
Brett Adcock said, "Our first applications will be in industries where labor shortages are most severe, such as manufacturing, shipping and logistics, warehousing and retail."
The Paper noted that the industry believes that Figure02 still needs to be strengthened in terms of hardware. VentureBeat, a well-known American technology media, believes that although Figure has significantly improved the appearance and function of its robots, it has taken an important step towards the commercialization of artificial intelligence technology. It looks very convenient, especially in factory and warehouse environments, where companies need robots to quickly learn and handle different tasks.
However, it is worth noting that the hardware aspect of the technology may still need to be further enhanced. Currently, Figure 02 moves at the same speed as the average human walking speed, but in certain specific situations, it may need to move faster, which is a problem that Figure hopes to solve.
Beyond that, there’s the matter of expanding the robot’s range of motion to ensure it can do more in less time, something Boston Dynamics is considering with its new Atlas line of humanoid robots.
Another view is that the release of Figure02 shows that robotics has taken a small step forward. Although it is not revolutionary, it is still very optimistic given that the industry is changing so fast.
FigureAI is the darling of the investment community in early 2024. According to foreign media reports, the company has raised $675 million. With the strong funding of Figure AI, co-founder and CEO Brett Adcock said that he is "going all out" to bring autonomous bipedal robots to market competition in the next two to five years.
The Paper reporter Yu Yan
(This article is from The Paper. For more original information, please download the "The Paper" APP)
