Figure Helix 02: one neural network controls a humanoid's whole body from pixels
On 2026-01-27 Figure released Helix 02, a single visuomotor network that maps Figure 03's cameras, touch and proprioception to every actuator; it unloaded and reloaded a dishwasher across a full kitchen in a 4-minute autonomous run, which Figure calls the longest-horizon, most complex autonomous humanoid task to date.
Key facts
- Adds System 0: 10M-parameter learned whole-body controller at 1 kHz, trained on 1,000+ hours of retargeted human motion and 200,000+ parallel simulated environments
- System 1 at 200 Hz produces full-body joint targets; System 2 handles semantics and language
- Dishwasher unload/reload: ~4 min end-to-end, walking + manipulation + balance, no resets or human intervention
- First Figure policies using Figure 03 palm cameras and tactile sensing
- 2026-05-13: Figure livestreamed a team of Figure 03 robots sorting barcoded packages on conveyors for a full 8-hour shift, fully autonomous on Helix-02 and swapping in and out of charging stations; Figure claims 'human performance levels' (company claim, not independently measured)
- Figure: 'first demonstration of such long horizon, end-to-end pixels-to-whole body control on a humanoid robot'
What happened
Figure extended its Helix VLA (Feb 2025, upper body only) to full-body control with a new low-level System 0 controller, running on the Figure 03 robot. In May 2026 Figure followed with a demo of two robots tidying a bedroom and making a bed autonomously. On 2026-05-13 Figure livestreamed its robots doing package sorting for a full 8-hour shift with no human intervention, rotating units through charging stations. Figure says they worked at human speed. That is a company claim, and no throughput numbers were independently verified.
Why it matters
It was the first public case of a learned humanoid policy doing minutes-long household tasks end to end from pixels. That set the bar that Gemini Robotics 2 (July) and Helix 2.5 (September) were measured against.
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: created
- 2026-09-29: added the 2026-05-13 8-hour-shift livestream (X post + press)
Models
- Helix 02 Figure AI · legacy
Videos (2)
Introducing Helix 02
Figure · 2026-01-27 · officialDescription by Gemini, which watched the video:
Summary
This official demonstration video from Figure introduces Helix 02, showing a Figure humanoid robot performing end-to-end chores in a kitchen. The robot autonomously opens a dishwasher, unloads plates, cups, and utensils into upper cabinets and drawers, and closes the dishwasher door. There is no spoken voiceover; only the natural operating sounds of the robot and ambient kitchen audio are heard.
What is shown
- [00:00–00:04] The video opens with the text overlay "HELIX 02" as the Figure humanoid walks across the kitchen toward the counter.
- [00:05–00:16] The robot approaches the dishwasher, bends down, opens the door fully, and pulls out the lower dish rack.
- [00:17–00:46] The robot grasps dishes from the lower rack, stands up, pivots to an open upper cabinet, and places the dishes onto the shelf.
- [00:48–01:15] The robot bends down again, pulls out the upper rack, picks up cups/mugs, and places them into the upper cabinet.
- [01:16–02:22] The robot repeatedly grasps additional glasses/cups from the top rack and shelves them into the upper cabinet.
- [02:23–02:53] The robot retrieves silverware/utensils from the dishwasher basket, opens a kitchen drawer, deposits the utensils inside, and shuts the drawer.
- [02:54–03:07] The robot retrieves remaining cutlery and places it into the drawer.
- [03:08–03:30] The robot slides the dishwasher racks back into place, lifts and pushes the dishwasher door completely shut, and stands upright.
- [03:31–03:36] Closing screen displays the Figure logo.
Claims & numbers
- None (the video contains no voiceover, text claims, or benchmark metrics beyond the visual title "HELIX 02").
Notable quotes
- None (there is no speech in the video).
Assessment
This is an official demonstration video highlighting autonomous whole-body manipulation and locomotion for household tasks. The video appears to be captured continuously in a test kitchen environment at 1x speed with synchronized natural sound, showing successful real-time handling of dishes, drawers, and cabinet doors.
Described by gemini-3.8-flash on 2026-09-29 from the video's audio and frames.
Helix 02 Bedroom Tidy
Figure · 2026-05-08 · demoDescription by Gemini, which watched the video:
Summary
This video, released by robotics company Figure, demonstrates two Figure humanoid robots autonomously tidying a bedroom. The robots coordinate in the shared space to handle routine household chores, including picking up clothing, straightening furniture, disposing of trash, and cooperatively making a bed.
What is shown
- [00:01 - 00:16] A Figure humanoid robot walks into the bedroom and opens the interior door.
- [00:17 - 00:23] A second robot enters through the open door while the first robot heads toward the bed.
- [00:23 - 00:31] One robot picks up a jacket lying on the bed and hangs it onto a coat stand, while the other robot pushes in the office chair at the desk.
- [00:32 - 00:52] The desk robot clears crumpled trash from the tabletop and drops it into a wastebasket.
- [00:57 - 01:03] The robots adjust and straighten the bed pillows on both sides of the bed.
- [01:04 - 01:56] Both robots cooperatively make the bed, grasping opposite sides of the duvet, pulling it flat across the mattress, smoothing out wrinkles, and neatly folding back the upper edge.
- [01:57 - 02:07] Upon completing the bedroom tidy, both robots turn and walk out of the room.
- [02:09] Closing display of the Figure logo.
Claims & numbers
- None (the video contains only ambient room and mechanical motor sounds, with no voiceover, subtitles, or on-screen performance claims).
Notable quotes
- None (no spoken dialogue or audio commentary).
Assessment
This is an official demonstration video highlighting multi-robot bimanual manipulation and cooperative task execution in a staged residential environment. The sequence appears continuous without obvious jump cuts during task execution, though it is a clean showcase setting without human obstacles or unexpected interruptions.
Described by gemini-3.8-flash on 2026-09-29 from the video's audio and frames.
Related posts (1)
- Figure Figure @Figure_robot · x · 2026-05-13
Cited as a source by: 2026-01-27-figure-helix-02
Related events
- Figure Helix 2.5: humanoids do chores zero-shot in 30 never-seen homes ★★★★★
- Figure launches Index, a paid crowdsourced human-video pipeline to train humanoids ★★★★
- Altman says OpenAI will "definitely" build its own humanoid robots ★★★
Sources (7)
- officialFigure: Introducing Helix 02 - Full-Body Autonomy
- pressInteresting Engineering: Helix 02 upgrades humanoid control
- presseWeek: Figure launches Helix 02
- videoYouTube (Figure): Introducing Helix 02
- officialFigure on X: full 8-hr shift at human performance levels (2026-05-13)
- pressInteresting Engineering: Helix-02 robots handle full 8-hour work shifts
- pressTech Times: Figure's Helix-02 robots complete full 8-hour autonomous shifts
id: 2026-01-27-figure-helix-02 · updated 2026-09-29 · open in the interactive timeline