Safety is commonly neglected within the rush to deliver 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 often buried beneath business 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 challenge, revealed the plans through a LinkedIn publish.
Earlier manufacturing facility and warehouse programs addressed the protection downside by caging in huge, heavy robots. Subsequent options have turned to know-how, together with superior laptop imaginative and prescient, software program developed by Veo Robotics, and a security vest designed by Amazon to assist preserve robots from crashing into individuals.
Amazon’s wearable is designed solely for inside utilization and sure received’t seem exterior of its personal success facilities. Even with that know-how, the corporate nonetheless makes use of protecting cages for a lot of of its 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 issues. After all, one of many class’s key promoting factors is its skill to work alongside people. Their huge, steel 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 (OSHA) have a number of catching as much as do by way of automation security regulation. Today there aren’t any “particular OSHA requirements for the robotics business,” in keeping with the federal company. This broader concern must be addressed, however regulation particularly focusing on humanoids is particularly well timed.
Figure AI is homing in on that hole.
“One of our current successes was to finalize a proper plan with our OSHA acknowledged impartial testing laboratory to certify our robotic’s battery, purposeful security management system, and electrical system to industrial requirements,” Gruendel 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 know-how officer in 2023.
“With any humanoid robotic working on this house, security just isn’t clear,” Wise advised me throughout a humanoids panel finally yr’s Automate convention. “There isn’t a straightforward cease for [Tesla’s] Optimus. There isn’t a cease on many [humanoid robots], and that’s in opposition to the protection normal. It’s very clear that most of the firms will not be concerned with it.”
The creation of the Center for the Advancement of Humanoid Safety is a vital step on that journey for Figure.
“We acknowledge that the final inhabitants is commonly on the mercy of the know-how consultants to guage whether or not an AI-controlled robotic will be secure,” Gruendel wrote. “We wish to converse instantly with our clients. We will take a look at and talk the robotic’s stability whereas stationary, stability whereas transferring, detection of people, detection of four-legged pets, secure AI behaviors, and navigation to forestall damage. We will hearken to recommendations from our clients on methods to check the protection of Figure 02 and past.”
Figure plans to publish quarterly updates providing extra transparency across the course of. The reviews will embrace testing procedures and fixes for potential hazards.
“We will summarize our successes and failures,” in keeping with Gruendel.
Those successes and failures may finally shut the hole on security and put together the business for the subsequent huge leap: bringing robots into the house.
Humanoid security requirements are set to turn into more and more important as extra corporations push to deliver these robots into the house.
