Figure Melts F.02 Robots in 75-Ton Steel Vat After Schwarzenegger Idea
Figure decommissioned its F.02 robot fleet by melting the machines in molten steel, an approach Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested on X.
Figure has decommissioned its F.02 AI robots by melting them in a 75-ton vat of molten steel, according to tomshardware.com. The idea came from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who replied on X after Figure CEO Brett Adcock asked for suggestions on how to give the robots a proper sendoff.
Figure said maintaining the F.02 fleet no longer made sense because its next-generation F.03 robots are increasing in numbers. The company also said disassembling the older machines is difficult and time-consuming and cannot be handed to a third party because of proprietary technology, while assigning an internal team would pull people off other projects such as the F.04 model in development.
The company found a site in Finland that accepted robots with lithium batteries for the molten steel process. Figure was given 24 hours and six melts to complete the job. One F.02 robot was filmed holding a thumbs-up sign as it sank into the molten metal.
The resulting metal bars were taken back to the U.S. and machined into limited-edition memorabilia commemorating the F.02. Most of the fleet has now been melted down and recycled, with a few robots remaining in storage at Figure's headquarters.
Figure has previously trained its robots to jump from the second story of its office building onto an airbag.
Quick answers
Why did Figure melt its F.02 robots?
Figure said maintaining the F.02 fleet no longer made sense because its next-generation F.03 robots are increasing in numbers.
Who suggested melting the robots?
Arnold Schwarzenegger replied on X suggesting the robots be melted after Figure CEO Brett Adcock asked for sendoff ideas.
What happened to the metal from the melted robots?
The metal bars were taken back to the U.S. and machined into limited-edition memorabilia commemorating the F.02.