Simply fascinating: Livestream of a robot at work goes viral

Figure AI has sparked a small online hype with its 03 robot. On May 13, the US robotics company launched a livestream with content that is rather unspectacular, but apparently still captivating: a humanoid robot sorting parcels. The experiment was originally planned to run for just eight hours. Due to unexpectedly high viewer interest, however, the stream was extended and has now been running for more than a week.

The stream is broadcast from the company’s headquarters in San José. The task is simple: pick up boxes and shipping bags, align them with the barcode facing downward and place them on a conveyor belt. Due to the 03 model’s limited battery life, which Figure AI says is around five hours under peak load, more than one robot is being used. The electronic workers are swapped out regularly, as can be seen from their name tags. At the time of research, “Frank” was on duty – watched by more than 1,000 viewers.

It is precisely the monotonous nature of the task that seems to make the stream so compelling. The robot sorts parcels with almost human-like precision. Particularly impressive is how easily Figure AI’s robot rotates boxes between its fingers to find the barcode. At times, it still needs a little longer to figure things out, but this mix of routine, technology and small delays appears to be exactly what makes the stream so fascinating.

Humans still have the edge – for now

As a video by Figure AI founder Brett Adcock on X shows, a human worker also competed against the 03 robot during the livestream – and narrowly won. The human needed 2.79 seconds per parcel, while the robot was slightly behind at 2.83 seconds. Adcock commented: “This is the last time a human ever will win” – and that does not sound entirely unrealistic. It is probably only a matter of time before the Figure AI 03 becomes even faster and more precise at sorting.