Figure, a California-based company, announced a partnership with BMW Manufacturing in a press release on January 18, 2024, to introduce general-purpose robots like Figure 01. These robots are intended to take on complex, dangerous, or monotonous tasks in automobile production to improve efficiency and safety, and allow employees to focus on more challenging tasks. The implementation will begin at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, after the initial phase of identifying suitable applications. This location also pioneered the use of cobots in automobile production, for example, in the insertion of door seals. Universal robots or general-purpose robots are not yet truly existing, but there are precursors to them. For instance, the Unitree H1 will be available in Germany from February. It is marketed as a general-purpose robot, although it certainly does not meet these requirements. In a similar vein is Elon Musk’s Optimus, which is not even available as a serious prototype yet. The pace-setter in this field is still Boston Dynamics with Atlas. Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel has been extensively involved with general-purpose robots and gave a presentation on this topic at the Developer Day of the SBB on November 30, 2024 (Image: DALL-E 3).
BY OLIVER BENDEL
