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BMW is using Figure’s new humanoid robot to help with logistics at its plant.

The robots sort components arriving at the factory and place them in trolleys.

Humanoid robots can be especially useful in monotonous roles at the plant.

Roughly two years after BMW first put humanoid robots to work at its US plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, a newer version has clocked in. The machines come from American firm Figure, and the resemblance to a person runs deeper than anything Tesla has managed with Optimus . This one looks less like a prototype in costume and more like something built to share a floor with workers.

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The new robot, known as the Figure 03, will play an important role in the plant’s logistics operations. Components arriving at the site currently land in large containers and are unsorted. It will now be the task of these robots to pick up each part and sort them into a sequencing trolley.

Read: BMW’s New Humanoid Workers Never Take A Break Or Get Paid

These trolleys will then be taken to a specified collection point for further transport. These parts will then be handed over to an automated tugger train or a Smart Transport Robot, which will shift them to the production line, where human workers will use them to assemble several new BMW models.

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The Figure 03 robots play a different role than the old Figure 02 bots used at the site. Through an 11-month pilot program, those old humanoids worked in the body shop, inserting sheet-metal parts for the welding process, helping to build more than 30,000 X3s over a ten-month period.

Helping Workers, Not Replacing Them

“Plant Spartanburg is the birthplace of humanoid robotics in BMW Manufacturing’s operational day-to-day activities,” Ulrich Wieland, vice president of production control and logistics at BMW Manufacturing, said. “Having already successfully completed a pilot with Figure 02 in our body shop, we are now looking forward to deploying Figure 03 for a sequencing use case in logistics.”

BMW refers to these humanoid robots as a “value-adding complement to existing automation” at its plant, which already uses AI to develop intricate virtual 3D simulations and a so-called ‘virtual factory’ to continually refine processes. BMW says robots like these are especially important for “monotonous, ergonomically demanding, or safety-critical activities,” and says it wants to “protect and most effectively utilize employees,” rather than replacing all of them with robots.

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Photos BMW

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Guardian investigation exposes full links between a US business linked to baby deaths around the world and Australian ‘birth keeper’ Emily Lal, the central witness at the inquest into the death of a Melbourne wellness influencer

How a Melbourne woman’s death is shining light on the dangers of non-medical births – Full Story podcast

Find more from The birth keepers series here

During her time at the helm of a multimillion-dollar organisation linked to baby deaths around the world , Emilee Saldaya has always avowed one thing: she’s never heard of a woman dying after a freebirth.

“I’ve never heard of a mother dying in childbirth in the sovereign birth world,” the Free Birth Society founder said in a December 2024 appearance on The Way Forward podcast, adding: “In the sovereign birth world we aren’t losing mothers.”

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First shared on Bluesky by Circana analyst Mat Piscatella , Sony has provided a glimpse of PlayStation's future and priorities through a written summary of its Game & Network Services Segment Small Meeting Q&A . Answers were provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino, Studio business CEO Hermen Hulst, and SIE senior vice president of finance and corporate development, Lynn Azar.

The meeting took place on Friday, June 5, a month after Sony revealed it was pulling back from releasing its major singleplayer games on PC , and weeks before the Bungie bloodbath precipitated by the sunsetting of Destiny 2. Speaking as a normal guy who likes games and mostly uses his PS4 to watch Hulu, the "vision" provided during the meeting did not inspire confidence.

In fact, this unvarnished glimpse at the decision making priorities at the heights of the game industry made me actively depressed.

'Focusing more on monetizing our user base'

Responding to a question on how PlayStation will achieve Monthly Active User (MAU) growth in 2027, the group indicated that it's more focused on maximizing profit per customer, assessed through a metric with the unsettling name of Customer Lifetime Value.

As for how that happens, PlayStation's execs explained in a follow-up question: "There are multiple ways to achieve that via recurring revenue such as add-on content revenue," and rather than upping the MAU count, the group is "focusing more on monetizing our user base, which is well reflected in the strong FY2025 financial results." I love being monetized. Were I a PlayStation customer, I'd be thrilled that's such a major priority.

Elsewhere in the Q&A, they reference "record-high PS Plus profitability in FY2025." Between normal use and the streaming PlayStation Portal, the paid premium online service seems to be a key moneymaker for PlayStation. In response to a question about recouping the infrastructure costs of streaming games, the group responded that "We expect to recover the costs associated with investments and operations through revenue generated from PS Plus, which provides the streaming service."

'AI is an exciting long-term opportunity'

"For the next-generation platform, rather than simply serving as an alternative to PCs, we aim to deliver value that is unique to PlayStation.""...we are focusing more on monetizing our user base""We expect to recover the costs... through revenue generated from PS Plus"morganfreeman.gif

— @matpiscatella.bsky.social ( @matpiscatella.bsky.social.bsky.social ) 2026-06-30T00:22:56.575Z

"We also see AI as an important foundational technology supporting our strategy," said CEO Nishino as part of a message before the Q&A. "AI is already helping us across various fields by improving development efficiency, enhancing the player experience, improving content discovery, and enabling creators to build richer content."

"With our global player base, deep library of IP, and integrated ecosystem, AI is an exciting long-term opportunity for us."

Further into the Q&A, the lone specific example of AI use in development was the classic placeholder assets, something that has gotten studios like Sandfall Interactive and Pearl Abyss in trouble when they make it into a final product.

"This is less about cost efficiency and more about improving quality and development speed, which we see as highly valuable," the execs said. "At the same time, we are experimenting at a more fundamental level with smaller, AI-first initiatives, while remaining realistic about near-term efficiency gains. These efforts position us to stay at the forefront as AI continues to evolve, both in development process and in shaping future player experiences."

'Deliver value that is unique to PlayStation'

As a primarily PC gamer, I found PlayStation leadership's understanding of why players prefer the platform to be illuminating. In response to a question about winning back PC players who switched from PlayStation, the group described it as a matter of form factor.

"PlayStation has long been strongly associated with the idea of playing in the living room. However, in recent years, more users globally have been using personal monitors," said the group. "In response, we are selling peripherals such as monitors and speakers to break away from the fixed perception that 'PlayStation equals the living room' and to broaden usage scenarios.

"For the next-generation platform, rather than simply serving as an alternative to PCs, we aim to deliver value that is unique to PlayStation. This includes not only technological advancements but also an expansion of usage styles, enabling a seamless experience that can be enjoyed naturally beyond the living room."

Much as I love my desk and my high refresh monitor, they're not the main reasons I prefer PC to console: I'm here because of the PC's nature as an open platform, with access to more of gaming history and the frontiers of independent development than any single console or console service like Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.

In 2026, would you rather own a Steam or GOG library that was started in 2014, or a collection of PS4 games from around the same time? How valuable or relevant will a PS5 library look compared to a PC one 12 years from now?

The PC is the only platform where more than 50% of revenue comes from games outside the top 20 best sellers . Sony seems to view its first party lineup as a crown jewel that PC players should be desperate to access, but the reality is that it's just a small subset of a much deeper, more interesting catalogue. There's only one Sony exclusive I've personally held a candle for in the past 20 years, and not even loyal PlayStation customers are getting their Bloodborne fix.

Handheld and small form factor builds can extend the PC's potential past the desk, but PlayStation will always be a closed loop no matter the form factor, one that requires users to maintain a premium online subscription to fully utilize the electronics they already purchased, all on top of the internet access they pay for.

This disconnect may help explain why SIE pulled back from PC despite its ports raking in major profits : The company's leadership thinks converting PC players into PlayStation owners is a matter of form factor and quality exclusives. It isn't, and with yet more AI-induced hardware price increases on the horizon, I think that reality will hit SIE's bottom line sooner rather than later.

2026 games : All the upcoming games

Best PC games : Our all-time favorites

Free PC games : Freebie fest

Best FPS games : Finest gunplay

Best RPGs : Grand adventures

Best co-op games : Better together

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Police in California have poked fun at an EV driver who ran out of juice.

The Audi e-tron GT was left stranded and used a generator to recharge.

The 2026 model starts at $127,700 and offers up to 300 miles of range.

The California Highway Patrol’s Truckee branch embraces the lighter side of policing and they’ve gone viral for mocking an Audi e-tron GT owner.

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The wayward driver ran out of juice on the highway, so they had to pull over to the side of the road. Instead of getting towed to a nearby charging station, they opted to use a generator to slowly recharge the vehicle.

Review: Driving The 2026 Audi RS e-Tron GT Performance Feels Like Falling Into A Black Hole

That’s less than ideal and the California Highway Patrol joked, “Thoughts and prayers won’t add miles to your battery… but thankfully they brought their own generator.” They also posted an image of the incident set to Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer.

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On a more serious note, the highway patrol noted that “Mountain driving, elevation changes, and higher speeds can drain your EV battery much faster than expected.” They went on to encourage visitors to plan ahead, charge up, and leave yourself a little extra range. If you fail to heed their advice, you might end up like this driver and need an “unscheduled stop on the shoulder.”

The 2026 Audi S e-tron GT starts at $127,700 and features a 105 kWh battery pack that feeds a dual-motor all-wheel drive system developing up to 670 hp (500 kW / 679 PS). It enables the model to accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 3.3 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 152 mph (245 km/h).

Buyers will also find a respectable range of up to 300 miles (483 km). That wasn’t enough for this driver, but the 320 kW DC fast charging capability can take the battery from 10% to 80% in as little as 18 minutes.

Audi also offers an even more powerful RS e-tron GT performance for $170,500. It has 912 hp (680 kW / 925 PS) and hits 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.4 seconds. However, the range drops to 278 miles (447 km).

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