[DigitalToday reporter Jaewon Choi] U.S. AI robotics company Figure released a video of its humanoid robot Figure 02 being melted down in molten metal and scrapped. It recreated a famous scene from the film "Terminator 2", and the person who suggested the idea was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who played the T-800.

On Oct. 5 (local time), Japanese online media outlet Gigazine reported that Figure CEO Brett Adcock (브렛 애드콕) asked X (Twitter) users in August for ideas on how to say goodbye to Figure 02. Schwarzenegger replied, "Melt it." Figure then began filming the process of melting down the robot.

Figure is retiring Figure 02 as production and deployment of its successor model, Figure 03, expand. The company explained, "If we dismantle Figure 02 piece by piece, it will take a lot of staff to deal with intellectual property such as our independently developed actuators, and it could delay development of the next-generation Figure 04."

The filming location for the robot's farewell was a foundry in Imatra, Finland. Companies in the United States and Mexico did not accept putting a robot equipped with a lithium-ion battery into expensive equipment. A 75-ton electric arc furnace was used at the site, and the filming team was given 24 hours and only 6 opportunities to melt it. Actual filming time before the surface of the molten metal hardened was only about 20 minutes per run.

In the video, Figure 02 is lowered into the molten metal while hanging from chains and gives a thumbs-up like in the film. Schwarzenegger also appears, makes the same gesture, and says farewell with, "Hasta la vista, Figure 02" (See you later, Figure 02).

Figure also filmed a scene in which the robot itself jumps into the furnace. To do that, it repeatedly practiced jumping onto a large airbag from the second floor of its headquarters, and trained a dedicated AI model in simulation based on the movements of a stunt performer.

The metal from the scrapped Figure 02 will be moved to the United States and remade into limited-edition memorabilia. Figure plans to sell some to the public but did not disclose the exact quantity.