Figure Melts F.02 Robots in Finnish Steel Furnace — SkimNews
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- Figure sent its F.02 humanoid robots into a 75-ton electric arc furnace at a foundry in Imatra, Finland—the only facility worldwide willing to take the job, after every metal foundry contacted in the US and Mexico refused to risk their equipment on lithium-ion battery-powered machines.
- The company trained the robots to leap accurately into the molten steel using motion capture from stunt performers and a new AI model trained in simulation, practicing on airbags at the second floor of its San Jose, California corporate campus before shipping them overseas.
- Three F.02 robots ran their AI programs seamlessly during the melt despite extreme heat and electromagnetic fields that disabled camera equipment and other electronics at the foundry, which used three massive graphite electrodes to liquefy the machines into solid steel bars.
- Figure shipped the resulting metal bars back to the US and is machining them into a limited series of commemorative artifacts that customers can own, preserving what the company calls 'a piece of Figure's history in a compact package.'
- The search for a willing foundry was so difficult that Figure reportedly reached out to former MythBusters cast members for help, per the company's own account.
Why it matters: Figure's months-long hunt for a single willing foundry exposes a real infrastructure gap: there is almost no end-of-life pathway for advanced battery-powered robots. By turning a routine IP-protection and recycling headache into a branded spectacle—and a limited-edition merchandise drop—Figure also created a template for how robotics companies might monetize the retirement of their own hardware.
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