23. 02. 2025 | Natalie Bezděková

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Figure’s founder and CEO, Brett Adcock, has unveiled a new machine learning model designed to revolutionize humanoid robotics. The announcement comes just two weeks after the company decided to end its collaboration with OpenAI. The model, named Helix, is a Vision-Language-Action (VLA) system that enhances robotic capabilities by allowing them to understand and execute tasks through visual and language-based inputs.

VLA technology is a major advancement in robotics, integrating vision and language processing to help robots recognize objects and follow natural language commands. Helix enables robots to manipulate items they have never seen before and complete household tasks simply by receiving verbal instructions. For instance, a robot could be directed to pass an object to another, demonstrating Helix’s ability to coordinate multiple machines in a home setting.

Figure has been testing this technology with its 02 humanoid robot in real-world home environments. Unlike structured industrial spaces, homes are highly unpredictable, with ever-changing layouts and object placements. This variability has made home robotics a significant challenge, which is why most companies have prioritized industrial applications where conditions are more stable and controlled.

For robots to be practical in home environments, they must develop adaptive behaviors in real time, even when encountering unfamiliar objects. However, current methods for programming robotic actions are time-consuming and labor-intensive—each new task requires extensive coding or thousands of training demonstrations. An alternative is intensive repetition training, similar to how robotic arms in laboratories repeatedly practice object manipulation. However, achieving real-world precision demands hundreds of hours of training, making this approach inefficient for dynamic home settings.

Helix is still in its early development stages, and Figure acknowledges that there is much work ahead. The company is also using this announcement as a recruitment effort, seeking engineers to help advance its vision. While fully functional home robots are still a long-term goal, Figure is taking critical steps toward making them a reality.

Photo source: www.pexels.com

Natalie Bezděková

I am a student of Master's degree in Political Science. I am interested in marketing, especially copywriting and social media. I also focus on political and social events at home and abroad and technological innovations. My free time is filled with sports, reading and a passion for travel.