Figure Releases Helix 02, a Full-Body Foundation Model for Humanoid Control

• Helix 02 is an updated foundation model that unifies sensing and control across the full body of Figure’s humanoid robot.
• It enables continuous, multi-minute tasks like walking, grasping, and fine manipulation with no resets or human input.

Figure has released Helix 02, a major upgrade to its foundation model that brings full-body autonomy to its existing humanoid platform. Building on the previous Helix model which controlled the upper body from vision inputs, Helix 02 now integrates lower body, adding walking, balance, and manipulation through a single neural network. The update is powered by a new three-layer architecture that enables complex, room-scale tasks to be executed without resets or manual intervention.

A central capability is autonomous, long-horizon loco-manipulation, a continuous, multi-minute task that runs entirely onboard, with no resets or human control. In a demo, Figure’s humanoid robot unloads and reloads a dishwasher in a full-size kitchen, performing 61 actions over four minutes without any resets or human intervention. Most robots handle walking and manipulation as separate steps. Helix 02 does both at once, walking while holding objects, adjusting balance while reaching, and using its hips or feet when its hands are full. This lets the system avoid the breakdowns that happen when control is split between separate modules.

Helix 02 also adds new levels of dexterity by combining touch sensors in the fingertips with cameras in the palms. These let the robot feel how much force it’s using and see objects even when they’re blocked from its main cameras. That allows it to do precise tasks like picking a single pill out of a box or pushing exactly 5 ml from a syringe. It can adjust its grip in real time and use all five fingers to handle small, delicate, or cluttered items.

🌀 Tom’s Take:

Full-body autonomy has always been the hard part. Helix 02 matters because it finally brings movement and manipulation under one roof, fully onboard, fully autonomous.

Source: Figure