Figure has decommissioned its second-generation F.02 humanoid robots by submerging them in a vat of molten steel at a foundry in Imatra, Finland. The company stated that no other facility in the United States or Mexico would accept robots containing lithium-ion batteries for such a procedure.
To prepare for the event, the Figure team trained the robots to jump using motion capture data from stunt performers. The training involved simulation-based AI models and practice jumps from the second floor of the company's corporate campus in San Jose, California.
During the process, the F.02 robots operated near a 75-ton electric arc furnace powered by graphite electrodes. Despite the high temperatures and electromagnetic interference that caused other electronic equipment to fail, the robots successfully executed their programmed movements.
The metal recovered from the process was transported back to the United States. Figure plans to machine this material into a limited series of commemorative artifacts representing the history of the F.02 model.
