Why a humanoid inverts the safety logic of the factory, and what that costs in operating hours. A two-legged machine stays upright only as long as its controller runs, which makes the safe stop precisely the moment at which it falls; the standard that has to close that gap is not yet a standard, and the best documented deployment in the world counts 1,250 operating hours after eleven months.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a humanoid robot invert the factory's safety logic?+
Machine safety has rested for forty years on one assumption: if the power cuts out, the danger stops. With a two-legged machine that assumption inverts, because a humanoid stays upright only while its controller runs. The safe stop is precisely the moment it falls.
Why does a humanoid fall outside the existing robot-safety standard ISO 10218?+
ISO 10218, the standard on which industrial robot safety is built, assumes statically stable machines — machines that stay put when switched off. An actively balancing machine does not meet that assumption, which puts the entire humanoid category outside the standard's scope.
What is the status of the standard for humanoid robots?+
The standard meant to close the gap, ISO 25785-1, was a committee draft on 17 July 2026 and not yet a standard. So there is not yet an established framework specifically governing the safety of actively balancing, two-legged machines.
How much do humanoid robots actually run in practice today?+
Far less than the attention suggests. The best-documented deployment in the world — Figure 02 at BMW Spartanburg — totalled 1,250 operating hours after eleven months, according to Figure's November 2025 report.
Why do the figures in press releases and in actual operating hours differ so widely?+
Because a demonstration is not production. One technical property — switching off is not a safe state — explains why the standards are missing, why deployment stays small, and why announced capacity and real operating hours diverge so far.