Robots in every home is a common story in science fiction, but with companies like Figure and Tesla rapidly developing humanoid robots, it may soon become a reality. The latest is Figure 02, an AI-powered robot that can perform everyday tasks.

Created by the OpenAI-backed startup Figure, the new version of the humanoid robot has been rebuilt from the ground up, incorporating the latest AI and computer vision technology.

The new model features GPT-4o Voice-style native speech synthesis, which allows the robot to speak to and interrupt responses, just like a human.

The figure states that Figure 02 is the "next step" in the goal of having a robot that can take on dangerous tasks that humans cannot or do not want to do, and in the process generally "improve the quality of human life."

The latest version of this humanoid robot has six on-board RGB cameras linked to a custom AI vision system that helps it identify objects and situations.

Its hands are new fourth-generation models, with 16 degrees of freedom and a level of strength comparable to human hands.

One of the biggest updates is an on-board visual language model (VLM) that "enables fast common sense visual reasoning from the robot camera."

This allows the robot to make decisions based on unexpected events and actions that could not be programmed in advance.

Figure says." The exciting thing is that Figure 02 paves the way for humanoid robots to enter the workforce and the home." While this model may not work alongside humans in factories, it is the next big step in that direction and a promising sign of things to come.

It is also capable of having natural conversations with humans, and it does so through speakers and microphones with custom AI models that power each element and interaction, including a speech synthesis model similar to GPT-4o.

Figure's goal as a company is to develop and bring to market a "commercially viable general-purpose humanoid robot." The important part of this is the general purpose part. There are already many commercially available robots, but they can only be used for specific tasks.

Earlier this year, OpenAI acquired a stake in Figure, giving it access to models to improve its reasoning capabilities. This has resulted in robots that can manage tasks without human input while refining natural conversation. These robots can also learn tasks by watching and talking.

An earlier model, Figure 01, has been learning tasks at BMW's manufacturing facility in South Carolina for some time and is now joined by F.02, which has "successfully inserted sheet metal" into a specific fixture and is training for use cases.

Figure's goal is not only to increase productivity, but also to use robots to "improve the quality of human life," and Figure 02 is "closer to achieving that vision."