F.02 Decommission

This post details the engineering challenges and solutions for decommissioning a fleet of custom-built robots, specifically the F.02 fleet. Key technical aspects include: developing a safe disposal method for robots containing proprietary actuators and lithium-ion batteries, which traditional metal foundries could not accommodate. This led to training robots using AI policies to autonomously jump into molten steel in a specialized foundry in Finland. The process involved simulating jump trajectories, adapting to extreme environmental conditions (heat, electromagnetic fields) that caused electronic failures, and successfully executing the task within tight time constraints. The reclaimed metal is then machined into commemorative artifacts, demonstrating a novel approach to material reclamation and lifecycle management for robotic hardware.