Earlier this year, when Figure announced its plans to develop a versatile humanoid robot, the initial excitement was slightly tempered due to the absence of tangible progress beyond renderings of the envisioned robot.

While Figure had a compelling vision and a world-class robotics team, there was uncertainty regarding the speed of their progress.

However, Figure has since made remarkable strides, revealing its Figure 01 robot today, transitioning from a concept to dynamic walking in under a year.

Dynamic walking, a method akin to human walking, involves points in the robot’s gait cycle where sudden stops could result in a fall, as it relies on momentum to maintain motion, Spectrum reported.

This type of walking presents more challenges than conventional “robotic” walking, where a robot ensures its center of mass remains securely positioned over solid ground contact.

Dynamic walking also incorporates the subtle arm swings that help maintain smooth and balanced motion, similar to human locomotion.

Figure initially presented renderings of a slim human-like robot, a far cry from the reality of delivering tangible hardware months later.

Nevertheless, it appears that Figure is genuinely committed to maintaining this streamlined design, which carries several advantages.

Not only does it enhance human-robot interactions by appearing less intimidating, but it also contributes to efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and safety by reducing the robot’s overall mass.

Written by staff