BotQ Opens with 12,000-Unit Target Near Austin
Figure AI announced it is producing Figure 03, a third-generation humanoid robot, from a new factory called BotQ near Austin, Texas. The facility will start at 12,000 units per year and aims for 100,000 over the next four years. That is not a prototype run. It is a manufacturing line.
"BotQ is Figure's dedicated manufacturing facility designed to scale robot production," the company wrote on its site. The building uses a Manufacturing Execution System that tracks every subassembly and final robot with full traceability. Each subassembly and final assembly passes through the line with full traceability, ensuring quality, repeatability, and continuous improvement. Figure chose to vertically integrate across many critical module builds including actuators, batteries, sensors, structures, and electronics, all designed completely in-house.
The robot itself weighs 9 percent less than Figure 02, with soft textiles over hard mechanical parts, and wireless inductive charging at 2 kW through coils in its feet. Each hand carries embedded palm cameras and new tactile sensors that detect forces down to three grams, the weight of a paperclip. Figure says those sensors let Helix, its vision-language-action AI, distinguish a secure grip from an impending slip before it happens. After surveying existing market options, Figure found that current tactile sensors had inherent limitations that could not withstand real-world use. This led to the internal development of its first-generation tactile sensor, guided by three principles: extreme durability, long-term reliability, and high-fidelity sensing.
Why the Factory Shift Matters Now
Humanoid robotics has been stuck in the lab for a decade. Figure 03 is the first design built from the ground up for high-volume production. The company moved from CNC machining to die-casting, injection molding, and stamping, which cuts cost per unit sharply as volumes grow. While Figure 02 was primarily designed to be manufactured with CNC machining, Figure 03 relies heavily on tooled processes such as die-casting, injection molding, and stamping. This shift demanded a substantial up-front investment in tooling, but the payoff is clear: each Figure 03 unit now costs dramatically less to build, with the economics improving as volumes grow.
It is not clear this will hold. Ten thousand robots is small against auto assembly volumes, but it is a concrete number, not a press release claim. The actuators now run at 2x faster speeds with better torque density, which means faster pick-and-place in warehouses. The most significant outcome of this is Figure's ability to pick and place items at faster speeds. Figure is also adding a 10 Gbps mmWave data offload pipe so fleets can upload terabytes for continuous learning during shift breaks.
"There's no path to scaling humanoid robots without AI," Figure said. That line is the core bet: not a better motor, but a robot that can learn from its own fleet. The 10 Gbps mmWave data offload capability allows the entire fleet to upload terabytes of data for continuous learning and improvement. Together, these advancements position Figure 03 as uniquely capable of large-scale, end-to-end pixels-to-action learning.
What's Inside the Hardware
The sensory suite delivers twice the frame rate, one-quarter the latency, and a 60 percent wider field of view per camera compared with the previous model. Each fingertip sensor can feel a paperclip's weight, and soft fingertips increase contact area for more stable grasps across sheet metal and poly bags. Figure 03 introduces a next-generation vision system engineered for high-frequency visuomotor control. Its new camera architecture delivers twice the frame rate, one-quarter the latency, and a 60% wider field of view per camera, all within a more compact form factor. Combined with an expanded depth of field, this architecture provides Helix with a denser, more stable perceptual stream. These advancements are essential for intelligent navigation and precise manipulation in complex, cluttered spaces such as homes.
Each hand now integrates an embedded palm camera with a wide field of view and low-latency sensing, which offers redundant, close-range visual feedback during grasps. These cameras allow Helix to maintain visual awareness even when the main cameras are occluded, such as when reaching into a cabinet or working in confined spaces, and enable continuous, adaptive control in real time. The Figure 03 hands represent a major leap in compliant and tactile design. Softer, more adaptive fingertips increase surface contact area, enabling more stable grasps across objects of varied shapes and sizes.
Figure 03 is designed for both home and factory use. In a home it can navigate clutter and charge wirelessly; in a factory it can wear custom uniforms and carry side screens for quick fleet identification. The battery carries UN38.3 certification, with safeguards at the BMS, cell, interconnect, and pack levels. The Figure 03 battery pushes the bounds for robot battery safety and incorporates multiple layers of protection against abuse or malfunction, including safeguards at the Battery Management System, cell, interconnect, and pack levels. The battery has already achieved certification to the UN38.3 standard.
The company set up a global supplier network for actuators, batteries, sensors, structures, and electronics, most built in-house. This vertical integration is unusual for a startup, and it reflects the reality that no supplier network for humanoid-scale parts exists yet. To scale Figure 03, Figure had to build an entirely new supply chain for an industry where one does not currently exist, and the company has spent over a year establishing a global network of partners capable of meeting strict quality standards under an aggressive ramp schedule.
The Bigger Picture for Drones and Robotics
Figure 03 does not have rotors, but the manufacturing strategy overlaps with drone fleets. Both need wireless charging, fleet data offload, and rapid iteration from real-world use. The 10 Gbps offload and inductive charging systems apply across ground and air platforms. As factories race to automate, the key question is whether a general-purpose humanoid can earn its cost faster than single-task machinery. Commercial customers can also design distinct uniforms for their Figure 03 fleet, with the option to use more durable, or cut-proof materials, and make other design changes for specific environments. New side screens on Figure 03 even allow quick identification across large fleets and can be fully customized to match each customer's branding or operational needs.
Figure's target is ambitious, and the timeline is tight. If BotQ reaches 12,000 units in its first year, the market will have a real data point: not a demo, but a production figure. For now, Figure 03 is the first humanoid designed for both the home and the factory floor, and the first with a factory behind it. BotQ's first-generation manufacturing line will initially be capable of producing up to 12,000 humanoid robots per year, with the goal of producing a total of 100,000 robots over the next four years. Instead of relying on contract manufacturers, Figure brought production of its most critical systems in-house to maintain tight control over quality, iteration, and speed. The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art systems and digital integrations, anchored by an internally developed Manufacturing Execution System. Every subassembly and final assembly passes through this line with full traceability, ensuring quality, repeatability, and continuous improvement. To scale Figure 03, Figure had to build an entirely new supply chain for an industry where one does not currently exist, and the company has spent over a year establishing a global network of partners capable of meeting strict quality standards under an aggressive ramp schedule.
More on robotics and automation is at /category/robotics-drones. For background on humanoid manufacturing trends, see Reuters coverage. The BotQ line will start shipping Figure 03 at 12,000-unit annual pace this year, with the first 100,000-unit target set for 2029.