If you’ve nothing better to do in the run-up to Christmas, then how about enjoying a mesmerizing hour-long video of a humanoid robot sorting packages?
The clip was posted by the founder and CEO of Figure AI, the California-based company behind the Figure humanoid robot.
Brett Adcock was responding to a post on X by AI commentator Mehmet Aykul, in which he questioned the ability of Figure’s robot to handle “boring” tasks like sorting “10,000 messy packages without a single error.”
Adcock shot back with a video showing Figure sorting packages for a full 60 minutes, adding: “Boring enough for you?”
With many people beginning to tire of endless videos put out by various tech firms showing their humanoid robots in combat or dancing about, it’s actually rather refreshing to witness one engaging in a bland though meaningful task like sorting, and, more importantly, appearing to do it well.
As the video shows, Figure’s AI-powered robot has apparently been tasked with placing various bags and boxes onto a conveyor belt, with the label facing down.
Its nimble fingers are able to grasp each package with precision. The robot then deploys its onboard intelligence to locate the label, before turning the package face down onto the conveyor belt. There are several occasions where the robot has difficulty grabbing the package, but most of the time it works efficiently and at speed.
Unless you’re a fan of slow TV, we’re not suggesting you sit through the entire video, but even a few minutes of it gives you an idea of the abilities of this particular design.
Figure also recently concluded an 11-month deployment of a number of its Figure 02 humanoid robots at a BMW plant in South Carolina, where they loaded more than 90,000 parts onto the production line to assist in the making of more than 30,000 X3 vehicles.
Figure’s long-term vision focuses on developing general-purpose humanoid robots to eliminate unsafe, tedious jobs. But challenges in reaching this goal include honing the design so that it can effectively and efficiently execute a range of tasks, as well as achieving mass deployment of the robot.
A growing number of companies around the world are racing to reach similar goals, though China’s top economic-planning agency recently cautioned about a homegrown bubble developing in the sector. With all of this in mind, next year is shaping up to be an exciting one in the world of humanoid robot development.