Figure AI had one of its robots race a human to sort packages. It lost. - Business Insider
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Key takeaways
Boston Dynamics unveiled new footage on May 20 2026 showing its electric Atlas humanoid lifting a mini‑fridge and, in a later test, a fully loaded refrigerator weighing over 100 lb, highlighting a shift from locomotion toward robust, whole‑body manipulation for real‑world industrial tasks. The same week, Figure AI streamed a marathon‑style package‑sorting test in which its humanoid trio logged more than 30,000 sorted parcels over 24 hours, demonstrating continuous‑shift capability and drawing millions of online views. In Europe, the startup Humanoid announced a binding, phased agreement with Schaeffler and a partnership with Bosch to integrate its HMND platform into live manufacturing lines in Germany, with the first deployments slated for late 2026 and a robot‑as‑a‑service model that includes fleet management and 24/7 support. Singapore‑based Doozy Robotics expanded its global footprint on May 21 2026, rolling out its physical‑AI platform—combining a forthcoming industrial super‑humanoid, autonomous mobile robots and the Eywa‑OS orchestration layer—across the United States, the GCC and Asia to address persistent labor shortages. Meanwhile, Forbes reported that Shanghai’s Agibot now commands roughly 39 % of the global humanoid market, having shipped over 10,000 units and offering robots‑as‑a‑service in more than 17 countries, signaling a transition from prototype to early commercial deployment. In China, government‑backed learning centers are training humanoids for workforce integration, and the country is scaling production with pilot component platforms in Shanghai, positioning 2025 as the first year of mass production. Finally, a May 19 2026 analysis from Robotics & Automation News noted that humanoid robots are moving from validation to early commercial use, with automotive manufacturing and logistics projected to drive shipments toward 1.8 million units by 2036 and payback periods shrinking to roughly six months under high‑utilization scenarios.
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The latest news and analysis on robotics, from humanoid AI to real-world automation.
The latest news and analysis on robotics, from humanoid AI to real-world automation.
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Figure AI had one of its robots race a human to sort packages. It lost.
By Rya Jetha
You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. A coterie of humanoid robots has been sorting packages on a looped conveyor belt at Figure's headquarters since last Wednesday. The exercise aims to show potential customers that Figure AI's humanoids can work reliably for long stretches, including 24-hour shifts, Figure AI investor and board member Jesse Coors-Blankenship told Business Insider last week.
Figure AI first set out last Wednesday to have its humanoids complete an eight-hour stretch of autonomous labor. One robot sorted packages while two others stood on chargers in the background, ready to sub in when their colleague needed to power up. By the end of the first eight hours, the livestream had drawn more than 1.5 million views on X, and viewers had named the robots Bob, Frank, and Gary. Twenty-four hours later, the humanoids had sorted more than 30,000 packages and attracted more than 3 million cumulative views on X. The livestream is still going six days later.
Adcock has said the livestream will continue until the robots fail. Viewers have called the feed "surprisingly addicting" and "robotic ASMR," and Figure has even started selling merch of its package-sorting humanoids.
Figure has previously shared a video of its humanoids doing chores, such as making a bed.
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