Figure announced a business deal to bring its first robot, Figure 01, to BMW's plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the company's only factory in the United States with 11,000 employees.
This news comes at a time when more and more companies are using humanoid robots to perform certain physical tasks.
This is the first commercial agreement signed by Figer since its establishment in 2022.
The German company did not reveal the number of Figure 01 models that it plans to release initially, but it will start with a small group and expand as performance goals are achieved.
It is unclear what tasks the robots will be assigned when they start working in BMW factories.
The figure emphasizes that the humanoid robot initially performs five main tasks and presents these tasks in order.
Key uses include standard manufacturing tasks such as moving boxes, picking up, placing, unloading and loading pallets.
Factory owners say they find it difficult to find human workers to perform repetitive tasks of this type.
Figure plans to ship its commercial robot within a year, an ambitious timeline even for a company that prides itself on fast delivery times.
Early shape partners, such as BMW, played a major role in the early use of humanoid robots, which may have initially used sheet metal.
BMW plans to integrate humanoid robots into manufacturing operations, including body shops, sheet metal shops and warehouses, over the next year after training them on specific tasks.
Unlike other robot designers, Viger focused on creating a dexterous hand that resembled a human hand and designed it so that his robot could operate safely in the presence of humans.
“Working with BMW to automate our production facilities is a great validation for us in this field,” Tu said.
Automakers from Honda to Hyundai have been using humanoid robots to perform repetitive and dangerous tasks on assembly lines for years.
Tesla has already unveiled its advanced humanoid robot still in development, the second-generation Optimus Prime, and CEO Elon Musk predicts there will be a billion humanoid robots by the 2040s.
Universal humanoid robots equipped with artificial intelligence software are arousing renewed interest among investors due to their greater ability to move like humans and learn to perform new tasks.
Currently, robots developed by companies are widely used to perform specific tasks, but the availability of robots capable of performing a wide range of services in real-world environments remains uncertain.