Spinning off of my prior post on Figure . Given the marketing hype around Figure.ai, I was curious to delve deeper into understanding the team behind the Humanoid Robot. The Company’s website currently lists 46 positions.
This team includes professionals with extensive backgrounds in mechanical engineering, robotics, electrical engineering, software engineering, and strategic development, among others. They have been drawn from leading companies and institutions. Such as Tesla, Lucid Motors, Boston Dynamics, Rivian, SpaceX, Apple, and even academic institutions like Stanford University. Some were pulled from Archer Aviation (the founder’s former SPAC).
Trends in staff
Here are some key trends and insights based on the team’s composition and their motivations for joining Figure:
- Cross-Industry Expertise: The team’s composition highlights a trend of cross-pollination between industries, with professionals from automotive (Tesla, Lucid Motors, Rivian), aerospace (SpaceX, Archer Aviation), consumer electronics (Apple), and robotics (Boston Dynamics) sectors. This diversity suggests an approach that leverages broad expertise to tackle the complex challenge of humanoid robot development.
- Humanoid Robots as a Unifying Challenge: Despite their diverse backgrounds, a common thread among these professionals is the allure of the challenge and potential impact of humanoid robots. This reflects a robotics trend aimed at making robots that blend into human spaces and perform tasks with human-like skill and insight.
- Advanced AI and Machine Learning: Several team members focus on AI algorithms for bimanual, dexterous manipulation, robot perception, and scaling up robot learning. This emphasis on AI and machine learning points to a trend where these technologies are central to developing robots that can understand and navigate the complex real world.
- Safety and Efficiency in Design: The backgrounds of team members in battery systems engineering, motor and gearbox design, and embedded software engineering highlight a focus on making humanoid robots not just functional but also safe and efficient. This reflects broader trends in robotics and engineering towards prioritizing sustainability and safety in design.
- Collaboration Between Design and Engineering: The team includes roles that bridge design and engineering, such as surface designers and industrial designers working closely with mechanical and electrical engineers. This trend towards interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial for developing robots that are not only technically capable but also user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing.
- Career Mobility and Innovation: Many team members have transitioned from established companies to join Figure, driven by the desire to work on revolutionary technology and make a significant impact. Talent gravitates towards projects and companies promising to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Specific staff origins
Overall, the team at Figure represents a microcosm of the broader trends in humanoid robotics and technology. Interdisciplinary collaboration, a focus on AI and machine learning, sustainability and safety in design, and the powerful draw of working on cutting-edge, impactful projects.
Some of the key positions including the Director of Robot Systems and Director of Controls both came from Boston Dynamics. They were able to undoubtedly leverage their expertise from working on it’s prior humanoid robot such as Atlas and Spot. In fact, roughly 15% of the staff at Figure were poached from Boston dynamics:
The Senior AI engineer came from Google Deepmind’s robotics team. Which allowed figure to capitalize on Google’s past research on robotic manipulation. Roughly 30% of the staff at Figure have previously worked on humanoid robotics:
Coming from institutions such as Stanford, IMHC, everyday robotics, and MIT. Interestingly, about 37% of staff have roots in automotive, Electric Vehicles. Specifically About 15% spent time at Tesla, with the balance coming from Ford, Lucid, Rivian, etc.
In fact, the principal designer came over from Rivian. Which after some thought makes sense, given the need to design for manufacturing.
Surprisingly I counted only two or three staff that had spent time working on Tesla’s Optimus.