A lawsuit against Figure AI and a publicity stunt by China’s Engine AI have sharpened scrutiny of how strong humanoid robots really are—and whether companies disclose enough to assess risks. A former safety engineer alleges Figure’s prototype could exert force sufficient to fracture a human skull; the company denies the claim and says he was fired for poor performance. Separately, a video showing Engine AI’s T800 knocking down its CEO underscored how little current torque and payload specs reveal about real-world striking force. The episodes highlight a data gap that could complicate insurance, workplace deployment and regulatory oversight, adding urgency to calls for standardized testing and clearer disclosures from robot makers.
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