Robotics startup Figure AI — with investors including OpenAI, Nvidia and Microsoft — has released its next-gen humanoid, Figure 02. Its predecessor made a splash earlier this year with a demo that captured it conversing with an interlocutor as it organized household items and prepared a snack. Compared to the Figure 01 prototype, with exposed wiring and limited range of motion, Figure 02 is more polished. The latest iteration boasts skeletal improvements for heavier lifting as well as enhanced visual reasoning to assist with machine learning. The result is characterized as “a major leap” in AI-powered robotics, a category in which players include Tesla and 1X Technologies.

“Standing 5-foot 6-inches tall and weighing 132 pounds, [it] features a more seamless exoskeleton-based design — where the outer skin bears the load — with tighter packaging, concealed wiring for power and compute and human-scale hands equipped with ‘16 degrees of freedom,’” reports VentureBeat. “The hands, in particular, seem to be a major upgrade paving the way for human-equivalent strength and dexterity.”

Figure aims to help humans with household tasks and warehouse work, the latter catching the attention of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is also an investor. The new and improved Figure can lift objects weighing up to 44 pounds, VentureBeat writes.

A video demo shows Figure 02 walking in an office setting, cutting to what is identified as a “BMW factory test,” where the robot assists in the assembly line process. “One of the form factor’s key selling points is its ability to effectively slot alongside human co-workers on a factory floor,” explains TechCrunch.

Figure CEO Brett Adcock says the new robot’s computer vision system uses six onboard RGB cameras, positioned in its head, front torso and rear torso.

“The data from the cameras goes to an onboard visual language model (VLM) which works as the brain of the machine, helping with semantic grounding and fast common-sense visual reasoning,” according to VentureBeat. It is equipped with speakers and microphones to help it listen and respond.

“The mainstream explosion of neural networks has been enticing for the robotics industry at large, but humanoid developers have taken a particular interest in the technology,” reports TechCrunch. But it wasn’t until earlier this year, when the company announced it had raised $675 million Series B funding, that Figure AI gained wide notice, with a valuation of $2.6 billion.