Figure AI has just unveiled the latest version of its humanoid robot, and it looks mighty impressive.
As we deduced from the teaser footage released earlier in the week, the new robot, Figure 03, is geared toward helping around the home.
A video (top) released by the California-based company on Thursday shows Figure 03 clad in some rather fetching knitwear, presenting a more homely feel compared to the mechanical look of its predecessor.
Marvel at how the robot prepares a dishwasher, waters the plants, tidies a room, loads a washing machine, folds the laundry, serves drinks, and … well … is there anything this robot butler can’t do?
Probably not, as it’s designed to work with Helix, Figure’s proprietary vision-language-action AI. So if it’s presented with a task that it hasn’t already been trained for, it can learn it. So yes, unblocking a toilet could become one of its talents, too.
Figure 03 comes with an improved head-based vision system to help it better understand its environment. It also has embedded palm cameras that allow visual feedback when the view from the main cameras is blocked.
It also features enhanced audio hardware, with larger, more powerful speakers and a better-positioned microphone for improved speech processing.
Newly designed hands are part of the package, too, with forces as low as 3 grams able to be detected, enabling delicate grip control.
The new robot charges wirelessly by stepping onto a charging mat, so it can power up by itself as needed throughout the day, enabling pretty much continuous operation.
Notably, Figure 03 has been designed for mass production, which will help to reduce costs.
“Moving from Figure 02 to Figure 03 required redesigning nearly every component of the robot with manufacturability and cost in mind,” the company said. “The mechanical and electrical engineering teams aggressively reduced part count, assembly steps, and any components that were not absolutely critical to meet design requirements.”
It’s also built a dedicated manufacturing facility called BotQ that’s designed to scale robot production. The facility will have an initial production capacity of up to 12,000 humanoid robots per year, with the goal of producing 100,000 robots over the next four years.
Figure said that while Thursday’s launch focuses primarily on the robot’s capability for the home, it’s still aiming to put the robot in the workforce, performing tasks like picking and packing, sorting, and handling heavy items.
But as ever, the big question is, “When can I buy one of these and how much will it cost?” Digital Trends has reached out to Figure for more information and we’ll update this report when we hear back.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.