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 showing its Atlas humanoid robot lifting and placing a mini‑fridge and even a loaded washing‑machine‑size load, emphasizing advances in whole‑body control and AI‑driven manipulation for industrial work.
- At the same time, Figure AI streamed a marathon of its warehouse‑type humanoids sorting more than 30,000 packages over 24 hours, highlighting endurance and public interest in long‑duration operation.
- Industry analysts at IDTechEx reported that humanoid robots are moving from prototype to early commercial deployment, projecting shipments of 1.8 million units by 2036 and payback periods as short as six months in high‑utilisation scenarios.
- Apptronik secured a spot on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list, noting a $5 trillion market potential by 2050 and a pilot program integrating its Apollo robots into Jabil’s production lines.
- In Europe, the UK‑based Humanoid company announced a binding partnership with Bosch and Schaeffler to manufacture its HMND platform, with plans to roll out over a thousand units at Schaeffler sites and eventually scale to 100 000 robots by 2031.
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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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