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Humanoid Roundup: Figure AI's Milestone, Apptronik Award, and Foundation's Factory Focus
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Humanoid Robotics Heats Up: Figure AI Marks Anniversary, Apptronik Nabs Award, Foundation Showcases New Skills
Recent announcements from several key players in the humanoid robotics field highlight a period of continued development and growing industry recognition. Figure AI celebrated a milestone, Apptronik received an innovation award, and Foundation Robotics offered a glimpse into its expanding application focus.
Figure AI Turns Three, Eyes Future Growth
Figure AI, a prominent name in the race to develop commercially viable humanoid robots, recently marked its third anniversary. CEO Brett Adcock shared a celebratory video on X (formerly Twitter) featuring a Figure robot, adorned with a party hat and holding balloons, walking with a surprisingly smooth gait.
Adcock's accompanying message noted the company's progress over the past three years, stating, "we’ve designed three generations of robots, deployed commercially, and built the best team ever assembled." He concluded with an optimistic teaser: "Think about what this looks like 3 years from now." While details on the commercial deployments remain relatively light, the consistent updates and demonstrations point to rapid iteration in their hardware and software development.
Figure is officially 3 years old 🎉 Over the last 3 years, we’ve designed three generations of robots, deployed commercially, and built the best team ever assembled Think about what this looks like 3 years from now
Apptronik's Apollo Honored with IEEE Innovation Award
Austin-based Apptronik, developers of the Apollo humanoid robot, has been named a recipient of the 2025 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) Award for Product Innovation. The company announced the honor, expressing gratitude to the IEEE committee and its partners. The award recognizes companies for innovative commercial products utilizing robotics and automation science and technology, with products needing to have been commercialized within two years of the nomination due date.
According to the IEEE RAS, Apollo is recognized as "an AI-powered, humanoid robot and the first commercial humanoid designed for friendly interaction, mass manufacturability, performance, and safety." This award lends further credibility to Apptronik's approach and Apollo's design philosophy, which aims to make humanoid robots practical and accessible for various industries. Apptronik shared the 2025 award with Rugged Robotics, recognized for its construction automation solutions, and Ambi Robotics, for its AI-powered robotic sorting systems.
Foundation Robotics Demonstrates New Sorting Capabilities
Meanwhile, Foundation CEO Sankaet Pathak provided an update on their humanoid, Phantom. Pathak shared a video showcasing the robot engaged in a new task: packing an assortment of consumer goods from a conveyor belt into tote boxes. This demonstration highlights the robot's dexterity and its potential application in logistics and fulfillment centers.
Pathak's message indicated that while the company has been focused on its initial deployment in auto manufacturing, it is now actively "tackling next use cases for the next two customers in consumer goods manufacturing." This points to a strategy of diversifying Phantom's skill set and market reach, moving from heavy industry to potentially broader applications in warehousing and e-commerce.
These developments, while incremental, collectively underscore the dynamic nature of the humanoid robotics sector. Companies are not only refining bipedal locomotion and manipulation but are also focusing on specific commercial applications and seeking validation from industry bodies, signaling a maturation of the field beyond pure research and development.