Figure teases its next-gen humanoid robot Figure 02

Remember that viral video where a robot handed someone an apple while casually explaining why it chose to do so? That was Figure 01, and its creators are already moving to the next act.

Figure, the OpenAI-backed robotics startup that pulled in a massive $675 million funding round earlier this year, just dropped a teaser trailer for its next-gen humanoid robot: Figure 02. The official reveal is locked in for August 6, 2024.

Founder Brett Adcock didn't hold back on social media either, taking to X to declare Figure 02 "the most advanced humanoid robot on the planet."

Glimpses of flexible mesh and 150Nm torque

The teaser keeps its cards close to its chest, skipping full-body reveals in favor of dramatic, high-energy close-ups of redesigned joints and limbs.

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted a few key engineering specs flashed across the screen. Most notably, the robot features joint torque ratings of up to 150Nm (Newton-meters) and a range of motion reaching 195 degrees. The video also hints at a flexible mesh material integrated into the robot body, pointing toward improved durability and weight distribution.

Figure AI was founded in 2022 by Adcock, who brought in robotics veteran Jerry Pratt as CTO. Backed by heavyweight investors including Nvidia, Microsoft, Intel Capital, and Jeff Bezos, the company previously inked a commercial deal with BMW Manufacturing to test humanoids in automotive assembly lines.

While Figure 01 gained fame running on OpenAI's GPT-4V, speculation is already swirling that Figure 02 will tap into OpenAI's newer GPT-4o or GPT-4o mini, enabling lightning-fast multimodal reasoning and conversational dexterity.

Why it matters

The race to commercialize humanoid robots is shifting rapidly from sci-fi prototypes to real factory floors.

For enterprise teams in logistics and manufacturing, Figure 02 is worth watching very closely. If the upgraded torque and range of motion translate to faster cycle times and heavier payload capacities, it could accelerate deployment timelines in facilities like BMW's Spartanburg plant, where human labor shortages remain acute.

Industry-wide, Figure represents the strongest challenger to Tesla's Optimus. Elon Musk recently made headlines predicting a market for over 10 billion humanoid bots, while Boston Dynamics transitioned Atlas to all-electric drives and Nvidia pushed its Project GR00T training suite. In our view, Figure's core advantage is its partnership strategy: by letting OpenAI handle multimodal brains and relying on industry partners for physical testing, Figure iterates far faster than competitors trying to build every single piece in-house.

That said, high-end teaser reels are one thing; 24/7 reliability on an active assembly line is another. We think the real test on August 6 won't be whether Figure 02 can strike a cool pose, but whether it demonstrates the endurance, grip precision, and fault tolerance required for true commercial utility.