BMW invites robots to come work in its factories

Figure announced a commercial deal with BMW to introduce versatile humanoid robots on its production lines.

Figure, a California-based company developing autonomous humanoid robots, announced today the signing of a commercial agreement with BMW to deploy general-purpose units in automotive manufacturing environments. The latest video published might suggest that it’s just for serving coffee to employees, but that would be too trivial for a project worth several hundred million dollars!

Figure’s humanoid robots enable the automation of difficult, dangerous, or tedious tasks throughout the manufacturing process, allowing employees to focus on skills and processes that cannot be automated, as well as on continuous improvement of efficiency and safety in production.

Designed to be particularly skillful and versatile, they would assist humans in the most perilous tasks. The press release only mentions assistance, not replacement… It’s too early to cause concern. But Figure’s roots are not the only ones trying to enter the job market. Honda and Hyundai, for example, have been testing this type of robot for several years, for repetitive and hazardous assembly line work.

As part of this agreement, BMW and Figure favor a gradual approach. Initially, Figure will identify the first niche applications in automotive production. Once this initial phase is completed, the robots will begin to be deployed in stages at BMW’s US plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Beyond deploying humanoid robots in an automotive manufacturing environment, BMW and Figure will jointly explore other advanced technological topics related to artificial intelligence.

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