Robot hubbub
Figure AI’s 24/7 livestream showcases human soft spot for humanoid robots.
Figure AI livestreamed its humanoid robots placing packages on a conveyor belt.
The robotics startup Figure AI has been livestreaming humanoid robots placing thousands of packages onto a conveyor belt for nearly a week—a spectacle that included a robot competing against a human intern at one point.
The promotional robot demo has become a viral sensation among tech enthusiasts, spurring YouTube commenters to name the robots and the company rapidly rolling out related robot merchandise in response. Users on X have described the livestream in glowing terms such as “the greatest product demo since Steve Jobs’ ‘one more thing.’” But despite such sentiments, it’s worth bearing in mind that even the most impressive robot demos represent narrow windows for understanding real-world robot capabilities.
