Figure 03 Arrives at BMW for More Complex Factory Logistics

Figure announced that its latest generation robot, Figure 03, has arrived at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg. The company says the robot is being demonstrated in Hall 52, an assembly and logistics hall, as part of the continuing partnership between Figure and BMW.

The new focus is a sequencing use case. In automotive manufacturing, sequencing means selecting and arranging parts for the assembly line even when bins, carts and parts do not appear in perfectly repeatable positions.

This is more difficult than a classic pick-and-place task. Figure 03 must perceive the scene, adjust its body, use both hands, reposition its feet and sometimes pull a heavy cart while maintaining balance and precision.

The workflow is powered by Helix 02, Figure's pixels-to-actions VLA system. According to Figure, Helix 02 coordinates the robot's hands, arms, torso and feet, allowing it to combine precise part placement with forceful whole-body manipulation.

The deployment is an important sign for industrial humanoids: the value case is moving toward flexible logistics work that fixed automation and six-axis arms cannot easily solve.

Factory humanoids are being tested where fixed automation becomes too rigid.

— RobotsHome Editorial