BMW is to deploy US-based Figure's humanoid robot in its production facilities. It is about robot for 'general use', which is much more flexible in its deployment than a traditional industrial robot.
Figure is an American company focused on developing autonomous humanoid robots. These are robots that at first glance look a lot like humans. For instance, like humans, they move around on two legs, and have arms. The robots are aimed at automating difficult, unsafe or precise tasks in the production process. They thus relieve human employees, who are left with more time for tasks that cannot be automated.
Figure 01
The company developed the Figure 01 for this purpose, which the company describes as the world's first "commercially-feasible autonomous humanoid robot". The robot is 1.67 metres tall, weighs 60 kilograms and can lift loads of up to 20 kilograms. Figure 01 can be operational for about 5 hours on a battery charge, moving at a speed of 1.2 metres per second. The robot's drive is entirely electric.
Figure argues that its robots can, among other things, help increase productivity in the manufacturing industry and address the sector's extensive labour shortages. However, also consider reducing risks faced by workers in the workplace.
Brett Adcock
The robotics company was founded by CEO Brett Adcock. The entrepreneur previously founded, among others, Archer Aviation, which focuses on the development of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. He was also behind talent marketplace Vettery, which was acquired by Adecco Group in 2018.
Adcock points out the advantages of his company's 'generic robots' over traditional robotics, which is focused on a specific purpose. "Single-purpose robotics has saturated the commercial market for decades, but the potential of general purpose robotics is completely untapped," he says. Figure's robots enable companies to increase productivity, reduce costs and create a safer and more consistent environment," said Brett Adcock, Founder and CEO of Figure. "We look forward to working side by side with BMW Manufacturing to integrate AI and robotics into automotive production."
Automating production processes
BMW will deploy the robots in its production facilities, aiming to automate production processes and support its workforce. The roll-out of the Figure robots will take place in phases. In the first phase, Figure identifies applications in which its humanoid robots can be applied. In the second phase, the robotics company is actually rolling out the robots at a BMW production facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in the US.
The two parties will also further develop the robots together. BMW Manufacturing and Figure want to explore opportunities in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), robot control, production visualisation and robot integration.
'Automotive industry is evolving rapidly'
"The automotive industry, and thus vehicle production, is evolving rapidly. BMW Manufacturing strives to integrate innovative technologies into our production systems to advance our future as a market leader and innovator. The use of general purpose robotic solutions has the potential to make productivity more efficient, to support the growing demand of our consumers and to enable our team to focus on the transformation ahead," said Dr Robert Engelhorn, President and CEO of BMW Manufacturing.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Image: Darko Stojanovic via Pixabay
