Figure, a California-based startup working to develop humanoid robots, announced that it has signed a commercial partnership with BMW. The German automaker hopes to use the general-purpose robots on the production line at its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
This marks the first commercial tie-up between Figure and an outside company since it was founded in 2022. In videos, the company shows its robot walking and performing delicate tasks, like operating a Keurig coffee machine.
“Single-purpose robotics have saturated the commercial market for decades, but the potential of general purpose robotics is completely untapped,” said Brett Adcock, the robotics company’s CEO. “Figure’s robots will enable companies to increase productivity, reduce costs, and create a safer and more consistent environment.”
The two companies say that they are pursuing a multiphase approach to integrate the robots into the factory. To start, Figure will look for areas where it believes its humanoid robots will be useful. Then, it will begin a staged deployment of them into BMW’s factory. Reuters reports that the machines will be integrated into the plant in the next 12 to 24 months.
More: Hyundai Launches Its First Robot Co-Developed With Boston Dynamics
Figure says it has designed its robots to be safe next to humans, which will be important since Spartanburg currently employs 11,000 people. BMW is far from the only brand working to integrate general-purpose robots into its plants, with automakers like Tesla and its Optimus humanoid, as well as Hyundai, with its robots from Boston Dynamics, working to further automate plants.
“The automotive industry, and with it the production of vehicles, is evolving rapidly,” said Robert Engelhorn, CEO of BMW manufacturing. “The use of general purpose robot solutions has the potential to make productivity more efficient, to support the growing demands of our consumers, and to enable our team to focus on the transformation ahead of us.”
