--- description: Find out why Figure 02 is one of the best inventions of 2024 title: Figure 02: the 200 Best Inventions of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd55038f9143f8f8b/698a8a1916d8840674c43bc1/Hand_Look_View_Website.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 30, 2024 # A Hard-Working Humanoid Bot by [Tharin Pillay](/author/tharin-pillay/) ## Tharin Pillay Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Pillay is an editorial fellow at TIME.  In August, AI robotics startup Figure unveiled [Figure 02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SRVJaOg9Co "undefined"), a battery-powered humanoid robot that packs advanced cameras and sensors that allow it to navigate the world into its nearly 155-pound frame. In [trials](https://www.designnews.com/manufacturing/bmw-tests-humanoid-assembly-robots-from-figure-ai "undefined") this year working at BMW’s South Carolina factory, Figure 02 successfully completed various tasks involved in automobile assembly, such as inserting sheet metal parts into assembly fixtures. The startup—which has partnered with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia, attracting a [$2.6 billion valuation](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/29/robot-startup-figure-valued-at-2point6-billion-by-bezos-amazon-nvidia.html#:~:text=Tech-,Humanoid%20robot%20startup%20Figure%20AI%20valued%20at%20%242.6,Bezos%2C%20OpenAI%2C%20Nvidia%20join%20funding "undefined")—[aims](https://www.figure.ai/about-us "undefined") to automate tasks in sectors like manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing. These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2024/7094914/figure-02/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2024/7094914/figure-02/"},"headline":"Figure 02: the 200 Best Inventions of 2024","datePublished":"2024-10-30T11:24:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:34.568Z","description":"Find out why Figure 02 is one of the best inventions of 2024","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2024/7094914/figure-02/","keywords":["Tech","E-Commerce","list","franchise","Magazine","best inventions"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd55038f9143f8f8b/698a8a1916d8840674c43bc1/Hand_Look_View_Website.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tharin Pillay","jobTitle":"Pillay is an editorial fellow at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/tharin-pillay/"}],"creator":"Tharin Pillay","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd55038f9143f8f8b/698a8a1916d8840674c43bc1/Hand_Look_View_Website.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2024/7094914/figure-02/","name":"Figure 02: the 200 Best Inventions of 2024"}}]}] ```