Figure to launch general-purpose robots in BMW plants

January 21, 2024

Figure, a company specializing in autonomous humanoid robots, has announced a commercial agreement with BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC to integrate their robots into manufacturing plants.

Figure’s humanoid robots are designed to automate difficult, unsafe, or tedious tasks in manufacturing, allowing employees to focus on skills that cannot be automated.

The agreement between Figure and BMW Manufacturing will follow a milestone-based approach. The first phase involves identifying initial use cases for Figure robots in automotive production. Once they have the applications laid out, they’ll deploy the robots at BMW’s manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The partnership will also jointly explore several new topics together such as artificial intelligence, robot control, manufacturing virtualization, and robot integration.

Figure is based in Sunnyvale, California.

“Single-purpose robotics have saturated the commercial market for decades, but the potential of general-purpose robotics is completely untapped. Figure’s robots will enable companies to increase productivity, reduce costs, and create a safer and more consistent environment,” said Brett Adcock, Founder and CEO of Figure.

“The automotive industry, and with it the production of vehicles, is evolving rapidly. BMW Manufacturing is committed to integrating innovative technologies in our production systems to drive our future forward. 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,” said Dr. Robert Engelhorn, President and CEO of BMW Manufacturing.