Safety is commonly ignored within the rush to convey humanoid robots to the office. As high-profile companies starting from retailers like Amazon to carmakers comparable to Mercedes and BMW have introduced humanoid pilots for factories and warehouses, conversations round employee security are frequently buried beneath trade hype.
One Bay Area robotics agency is hoping to right that shortfall.
Figure AI introduced Tuesday it’s constructing a Center for the Advancement of Humanoid Safety, an in-house division wholly centered on the subject. Rob Gruendel, the previous Amazon Robotics security engineer who’s heading up the undertaking, revealed the plans through a LinkedIn publish.
Earlier manufacturing facility and warehouse methods addressed the security drawback by caging in large, heavy robots. Subsequent options have turned to expertise, together with superior pc imaginative and prescient, software program developed by Veo Robotics, and a security vest designed by Amazon to assist maintain robots from crashing into folks.
Amazon’s wearable is designed solely for inside utilization and certain gained’t seem exterior of its personal achievement facilities. Even with that expertise, the corporate nonetheless makes use of protecting cages for a lot of of its personal robots. Veo Robotics, in the meantime, was absorbed into Symbotic in 2024. More not too long ago, Symbotic has taken the reins of Walmart’s robotics division.
While valued for its adaptability, multi-purpose performance, and talent to combine into present brownfield warehouses, the humanoid kind issue introduces a brand new set of security considerations. After all, one of many class’s key promoting factors is its potential to work alongside people. Their large, metallic our bodies — ranging freely inside factories and warehouses — have the potential to trigger accidents by colliding with their softer, fleshier colleagues.
Workplace security organizations like Occupational Safety and Health Administration have plenty of catching as much as do when it comes to automation security regulation. Today, there are not any “specific OSHA standards for the robotics industry,” based on the federal company. This broader concern must be addressed, however regulation particularly concentrating on humanoids is particularly well timed.
Figure AI is homing in on that hole.
“One of our recent successes was to finalize a formal plan with our OSHA recognized independent testing laboratory to certify our robot’s battery, functional safety control system, and electrical system to industrial standards,” Grudendel famous within the announcement publish.
Fetch founder, Melonee Wise, has made the subject of humanoid security a key focus since becoming a member of Agility Robotics as chief expertise officer in 2023.
“With any humanoid robot operating in this space, safety is not clear,” she instructed me throughout a humanoids panel finally yr’s Automate convention. “There isn’t an easy stop for [Tesla’s] Optimus. There isn’t a stop on many [humanoid robots], and that is against the safety standard. It’s very clear that many of the companies are not interested in it.”
The creation of the Center for the Advancement of Humanoid Safety is a crucial step on that journey for Figure.
“We recognize that the general population is often at the mercy of the technology experts to judge whether an AI-controlled robot can be safe,” Gruendel wrote. “We want to speak directly with our customers. We will test and communicate the robot’s stability while stationary, stability while moving, detection of humans, detection of four-legged pets, safe AI behaviors, and navigation to prevent injury. We will listen to suggestions from our customers on ways to test the safety of Figure 02 and beyond.”
Figure plans to publish quarterly updates providing extra transparency across the course of. The experiences will embrace testing procedures and fixes for potential hazards.
“We will summarize…