Fancy humanoid robot no longer walks like it urgently needs a toilet

Human-looking bipedal robots can already run, jump, breakdance, punch, and generally perform broad feats of athletic prowess most humans could only dream of. One thing they are still pretty bad at though is walking a straight line without looking like they are moments away from soiling themselves. Figure AI, one of the buzziest startups in the humanoid robot space, now says it has engineered a solution to help address their machine’s stiff shuffle-step. 

The more natural-looking stride was achieved by analyzing thousands of virtual humanoid robots walking simultaneously in a simulated digital environment, Figure explained in a recent blog post. The company used reinforcement learning, rewarding the virtual robots for actions like synchronized arm swings, heel strikes, and toe-offs (when the toe leaves the ground) that more closely resemble human movement. Figure says this simulated approach allows it to generate years worth of data in just days. The refined “Learned Natural Walking” model was then applied to a physical Figure 2.0 humanoid.

Working towards walking in the real word

As the demonstration video above shows, the new stride isn’t perfect, but it’s an improvement over what the company’s robots displayed just a month earlier. The latest version moves more naturally, especially in its heel and lower leg movements. Figure exposed its horde of simulated robots to a variety of different terrains. It also had them adapt to unexpected scenarios like being tripped or shoved. The company sees this all as a step toward making its robots move more like humans in a real, unpredictable physical world.

“These initial results are exciting, but we believe they only hint at the full potential of our technology,” Figure writes. “We’re committed to extending our learned policy to handle every human-like scenario the robot might face in the real world.”

Research suggests that humans tend to respond more positively to robots when they appear more human-like and can hold a conversation. This same trait also makes people less likely to bludgeon the machines—a factor that could become increasingly important as humanoid robot manufacturers push for wider adoption across various industries. Figure AI has already secured a deal with BMW to test its robots in a South Carolina manufacturing facility, while Amazon is reportedly trialing humanoid robots from Agility Robotics in some of its warehouses.

Robots are finally getting better at the little things 

Humanoid robots have been performing backflips and dance routines for years, but they often struggle with the simple tasks humans take for granted. This contrast—where robots excel at challenges humans find difficult but fail at tasks humans find easy—is often referred to in robotics as “Moravec’s Paradox.” While advances in AI models have helped narrow this gap in recent years, there’s still a long way to go.

Google DeepMind just last year made a major breakthrough by finally teaching a robot how to tie a shoe. Even then, after decades of robotics research, the robot did a worse job than some school-age children. At the same time, robots today still struggle to lightly grip various objects without crushing them and often have about as much sense of balance as a human after one too many margaritas. 

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