Humanoid robot fleet decommissioned in wild Terminator-style leap into molten steel

Figure has gone full Terminator with its retired humanoid robots, sending them into a vat of molten steel. The robotics company sent F.02 units to a foundry in Imatra, Finland, where the machines autonomously leaped into a 75-ton electric arc furnace. The furnace then reduced the robots to molten metal. The unusual disposal effort followed the arrival of Figure’s newer F.03 fleet. Keeping the older robots operational no longer made sense, according to Figure. Disassembling each machine also threatened to consume engineering time needed for the company’s next-generation F.04 robot. The solution created a difficult engineering problem of its own. Figure needed to destroy proprietary hardware without exposing custom components or intellectual property. That ruled out conventional dismantling for much of the fleet. Furnace became the answer Figure eventually found a Finnish foundry willing to accept the robots. Facilities in the United States and Mexico had rejected the idea because of the lithium-ion batteries inside the machines. The company even sought help from former MythBusters members during the search. The breakthrough came after Arnold Schwarzenegger encouraged Figure to melt the robots. Schwarzenegger later joined the project. Engineers first had to teach the F.02 machines how to make the jump. Figure installed large airbags at its San Jose headquarters and trained robots to leap from a second-floor building. Stunt performers provided movement references for the training. Engineers then developed a control model in simulation. It had to guide each robot into a precise landing zone at an unfamiliar foundry. That requirement left little room for error. The team had never tested the robots inside the Finnish facility before shipping them there. Six melts, 24 hours The foundry’s electric arc furnace uses three large graphite electrodes to melt steel scrap. Figure had only six melting cycles across a 24-hour window. Each cycle offered roughly 20 minutes before the molten steel cooled enough to develop a solid crust. Extreme temperatures created another problem for the electronics. Electromagnetic fields also disrupted equipment around the furnace. Cameras and other electronics failed during the operation. Figure said the robots continued executing their trained movement policies despite those failures. The F.02 units ultimately disappeared into the furnace, but their material did not stay in Finland. Figure shipped the resulting metal bars back to the United States. The company now plans to machine that recovered material into a limited run of F.02 commemorative artifacts. The pieces will preserve material from the retired robots in a much smaller form. Most of Figure’s F.02 fleet has now been destroyed. A handful remain stored at the company’s headquarters. The project also served as a real-world demonstration of autonomous robot control under extreme conditions. Figure emphasized that the footage was not generated digitally. Its robots physically traveled to Finland and performed the furnace jumps themselves. Here are some of the behind the scenes for the F.02 DecommissionTo be clear: we actually trained our robots to jump autonomously, shipped them to Finland, and had them leap into a vat of molten steel pic.twitter.com/snm3Mz2v8z— Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett) September 30, 2026 Figure introduced the F.03 in October 2025 as its next-generation humanoid platform. The robot features a redesigned sensory suite and hand system built specifically for Helix, Figure’s proprietary vision-language-action system.F.03 also brings changes aimed at home use, including softer exterior materials, wireless charging, and an improved audio system. Figure also made battery safety improvements for operation around people.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Aamir is a seasoned tech journalist with experience at Exhibit Magazine, Republic World, and PR Newswire. With a deep love for all things tech and science, he has spent years decoding the latest innovations and exploring how they shape industries, lifestyles, and the future of humanity.