Figure Sends F.02 Humanoid Robots Into a Furnace With Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator-Style Farewell
Figure has given its F.02 humanoid robots a dramatic send-off, and it feels straight out of a science fiction movie. To mark the retirement of its older robot generation, the company staged a fiery goodbye in which several F.02 robots walked and jumped into a furnace filled with molten steel.
The stunt also featured Arnold Schwarzenegger, making the moment an unmistakable nod to Terminator 2. Dressed in protective gear, Schwarzenegger appears in the video guiding one of the robots toward the furnace before delivering the closing line: “Figure 2 has been decommissioned.”
The company says the F.02 generation has reached the end of its operational life as its newer F.03 humanoid robot fleet continues to expand. Maintaining the older machines alongside the updated models no longer made practical sense. However, simply taking them apart was not an ideal solution.
According to Figure, the F.02 robots contained custom-designed actuators, proprietary hardware and other valuable internal technologies. Disassembling each machine would have required significant time and effort, potentially slowing development work on the next-generation F.04 robots. Instead, the company chose a more decisive option: melting the retired units down.
Finding the right place to do it was more complicated than expected. Figure says several facilities in North America declined the job, partly because the robots contained lithium-ion batteries. The company eventually found a suitable location in Imatra, Finland, where a massive 75-ton electric arc furnace could handle the unusual task.
But the robots were not simply tossed into the fire. Figure turned the retirement process into a carefully choreographed performance. At its San Jose facility, the F.02 robots reportedly practiced jumping onto large airbags before their final furnace leap. Their movements were based on stunt performer references, and a specially trained AI model helped the robots execute the jump as accurately as possible.
Figure also stressed that the footage was real and not AI-generated. The company has not revealed exactly how many F.02 robots were destroyed, but it says most of the fleet has now been melted down.
The video has attracted plenty of attention online, with viewers praising the cinematic production, the unusual retirement method and Schwarzenegger’s appearance. At the same time, many commenters could not resist joking that if robots ever rise up against humanity, this clip may not help our case.
Beyond the humor, the stunt highlights how quickly humanoid robotics is evolving. Figure’s F.02 machines were once a major step in the company’s development, but they are already being replaced by the more advanced F.03 generation, while work continues on F.04. The fiery farewell may be theatrical, but it also signals a fast-moving race in humanoid robot design, where each new generation is expected to become more capable, more efficient and more useful in real-world environments.
