When Machines Master Human-like Walking

For decades, robots have been progressing, retreating, swivel … but rarely with the fluidity of a human step. This challenge of natural locomotion, long reserved for science fiction, is today on the way to being noted by figure 02. This humanoid, designed by the Californian start-up, has not learned to walk by repeating orders, but by exploring, falling and correcting its errors in a virtual world. Step by step, he refined his approach until he reproduced the subtle mechanisms of our own motor skills.

In this virtual environment, each figure 02 digital evolves on changing terrains, undergoes disturbances, stumbling, falling … and starts again. The system is gradually learning the most effective behavior by rewarding those that are closest to a human approach. Thanks to this diversity of situations, the robot learns to adjust its posture, stabilize its step and anticipate the variations in land. According to the article published by Figure.ai, this method makes it possible to obtain a robust control policy, transferable directly from the simulator to the physical robot, without additional adjustments.

Figure 02: a robot that works (almost) like us

The result of this learning is not seen in the lines of code, but in the robot movements. In a video published by the company, we discover a series of robots walking with an astonishing coordination. Their approach includes a support from the heel, a push by the toes and a swing of the perfectly synchronized arms. So many elements that recall human locomotion.

This realism is not by chance. During learning, engineers joined trajectories close to human walking. These standard movements serve as the basis. The robot uses them as a model. However, he can adjust his gestures. This allows him to stabilize better. It also optimizes its energy expenditure.

As Livenscience points out, this advance illustrates the desire to make robots not only functional, but also credible in their trips, an essential step to insert them in the real world.

Towards an industrialization of humanoids?

Figure 02 is not content to look good in front of the cameras. He has already been put to the test in real conditions. In 2024, several copies were tested on a BMW production line. The objective: to prepare a future where humanoids will work alongside humans, adapting to a complex environment without systematic reprogramming.

The Californian company is not alone in the race. Apptronik, a Texan company, plans to introduce its robot Apollo into Mercedes-Benz factories by the end of 2025. For its part, Agility Robotics develops Digit, another humanoid also intended for logistics warehouses. All bet on an increasingly natural locomotion to facilitate travel in spaces designed for humans.

These first deployments therefore mark a break: humanoids are no longer confined prototypes to laboratories. Thanks to artificial intelligence, they are starting to take a foothold in our daily lives. Literally.