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Just two weeks ago, the humanoid robot produced by Figure amazed us when it deftly removed clothes from a laundry basket and placed them in a washing machine. This was all extremely surprising.
A future in which humans are free from this tedious burden is showcased in a new video from Figure, where the same robot is seen arranging freshly laundered towels, then putting them aside folded.
Using a new dataset specifically for laundry folding, Figure02 adopts the same Helix Vision Language Action (VLA) model already used by the company in its industrial logistics operations, with the aim of guiding the process efficiently.
The California-based tech company has claimed to have created the first humanoid robot capable of folding laundry “completely autonomously,” a claim that is sure to have millions of people around the world instantly wondering: “So, where can I find one?”
The robot performs the cleaning task completely autonomously, without the need for manual intervention or specialized guidance, thanks to the implementation of a connected-end neural network.
As you can see, the robot uses multi-fingered hands to expertly pick towels from a pile. It also performs various folding strategies, recovers from errors such as grasping multiple towels at once, and performs precision manipulations, just like a human.
The video demonstrates concrete progress in one of the areas that robotic engineers still find extremely challenging: the manipulation of objects, especially soft and flexible ones. Indeed, the robot’s impressive ability to handle the humble towel seems like an exciting step toward the ability of such machines to handle other non-rigid objects, opening them up to a plethora of other tasks in a wider range of contexts.
While Figure’s focus is currently on using its human-like robot in work settings, it will soon be tested in private homes, which will be welcome for anyone who doesn’t enjoy laundry.
“Folding laundry may seem trivial to a person, but it is one of the most challenging handling tasks for a humanoid robot,” Figure said in a post on its website. “Towels are deformable, constantly changing shape, folding unpredictably, and prone to wrinkling or tangling. There’s no fixed geometry to memorize, nor a single ‘correct’ grip point. Even a slight slip of a finger can cause the fabric to wrinkle or fall. Success requires more than just an accurate view of the world: it requires precise, coordinated finger control to trace edges, pinch corners, smooth surfaces, and adapt in real time.”
Figure hasn’t yet provided details on pricing and purchasing for individual customers, so, at least for now, we’ll have to continue doing the laundry ourselves.
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