Your Robot Coworker Is Still a Pilot

In February, BMW announced the results of a pilot at its Spartanburg, South Carolina plant. A humanoid robot made by Figure lifted sheet metal parts in a welding cell for ten-hour shifts, Monday through Friday. The robot moved over 90,000 components, covering approximately 1.2 million steps and operating for around 1,250 hours. Within ten months, it supported the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3s.

The release refers to the robot as "the robot Figure 02" in the singular, without specifying how many were on the floor. Secondary sources cite two robots, but BMW does not disclose this number. The robot's impact is on the fourth rung of a ladder, representing the robot's productive work with limited human intervention. This rung is uncounted, and examples show that a robot in a warehouse, lab, or hotel lobby can be built, shipped, and installed but may not be working.

Agility Robotics, a Chinese manufacturer, produced and shipped over 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, but the counts differ by 1,000 units. Agility announced a $2.5 billion merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI, where the robot count is listed in a footnote as 1,000 Digit v5 robots with a three-year term RaaS contract. The footnote states the figure relates to customer orders as of May 2026, but it does not specify the number of robots built, shipped, or installed.

The counting of humanoid robots productively doing paid work with limited routine human intervention remains an unmeasured aspect despite significant capital and attention.